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Delhi HC issues notice on Google’s appeal against ADIF ruling; Microsoft, Alphabet top earnings estimates
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A division bench of the Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice on an appeal by Google challenging a single-bench order directing the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to decide on applications filed by a body representing Indian startups that has challenged the tech giant's new Billing Payments policy.
This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.
Also in this letter:
■ India among countries requesting maximum content removal: Twitter
■ Apple India’s desktop, laptop shipments see a sharp fall in Q1
■ UK blocks Microsoft's Activision deal
A division bench of the Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notices in Google’s appeal against a single-judge order directing the CCI to take up the complaints by a section of Indian startups against the tech giant's new in-app purchase billing system.
Background: ET reported on Tuesday that Google has appealed the single-judge order, which had asked the CCI to consider the complaints on or before Wednesday (April 26), the date on which the user choice billing system becomes effective. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the CCI called the concerned parties to hear the matter and asked them to submit documents to support their arguments.
Also read | ETtech Explainer: How complaints by Indian startups against Google brought CCI’s adjudicatory abilities under the scanner
The complaints: The Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) had filed a plea with the court earlier this month seeking an urgent CCI review of Google’s new in-app purchase billing system. It alleged that Google was engaging in anticompetitive conduct by implementing the new policy. ADIF alleged that the competition watchdog’s “inaction” on the tech company’s new billing system had resulted in Google engaging in antitrust practices.
What’s in the new billing system? Under the system proposed by Google, app developers need to pay a commission of 11-26% to the US-based tech giant.
India was among the countries making the most content removal requests last year, microblogging platform Twitter said on Tuesday. Japan, South Korea and Turkey were also among the other countries that requested the most content removal.
Key numbers: Twitter said it received approximately 53,000 legal requests to remove content from governments across the globe from January 1 to June 30, 2022.
India also topped the list of countries that requested the most user data from the Elon Musk-owned social media platform.
The top five requesting countries seeking account information in H1 2022 were India, the United States, France, Japan, and Germany.
Rule violation: Twitter said that over the reporting period, it required users to remove 6.5 million pieces of content that violated its rules, an increase of 29% from H2 2021.
Most accounts or content were taken down for hateful conduct, abuse, harassment, child sexual exploitation and sensitive media.
EU crackdown looms: The European Union recently said that Twitter would be among 19 tech companies subject to new landmark rules that require them to share data with authorities, do more to tackle disinformation and conduct external and independent auditing.
Failure to comply with the rules, dubbed the world's strictest regulations for online platforms, could result in fines of up to 6% of global revenue or even a ban from operating in the EU.
Google parent company Alphabet beat market expectations in the first quarter of 2023 with a net profit of $15 billion. Microsoft, too, surpassed investor estimates as it reported a profit of $18.3 billion on revenue of $52.9 billion.
Google in numbers: Boosted by growth in its cloud-computing division, Alphabet’s total revenue for the period came in at $69.8 billion, a 3% increase over last year. But ad woes weighed on the company’s earnings.
The Sundar Pichai-led firm earned $15.05 billion, or $1.17 per share, an 8% decrease from last year. Google, which has also unveiled a flurry of AI tools for its email application, said it would buy back $70 billion in stock.
What’s up with Microsoft? Microsoft reported a 9% increase in profit for the January-March quarter. The company reported a quarterly profit of $18.3 billion, or $2.45 per share, from $16.73 billion in Q3 2022.
Microsoft’s cloud business posted a robust performance during the quarter, generating revenue of $28.5 billion and registering 22% growth, compared with the year-ago period at $23.4 billion.
Also read | 'AI All-Star' Microsoft's rosy earnings spark rally in tech stocks
AI rivalry: Both tech behemoths talked up investments in artificial intelligence (AI), but results suggested that any substantial additions to sales will be slow.
The two companies said AI was already juicing sales, but neither said when or if they would start breaking out any sales, costs, or profits from the technology, Reuters reported.
Meta and Amazon shares rose 2.3% and 5.3%, respectively, on Tuesday after market hours.
Apple's India shipments of desktops and laptops are expected to have seen a steep decline in the first quarter of 2023 due to an inventory correction and slowing demand among enterprises.
What’s driving the news? Shipments of Apple's Mac PCs in India are expected to show some recovery in the second half of 2023, but growth for the year could still be much slower than the 20% expansion in 2022 and the 100% increase recorded in the year before, market trackers said.
Global decline: Globally, Apple’s PC shipments declined 40.5% on-year in Q1 2023, underperforming a 29% fall for the overall market, on account of weak demand, excess inventory and the worsening macroeconomic climate, as per an IDC report. PCs contribute roughly 10% to Apple’s overall revenue.
Not the apple of India’s eye yet: In the Indian PC market, which is led by HP, Apple still does not feature in the top five PC brands. In the fourth quarter of 2022, HP had a 32.6% market share, compared with Apple's 5.4%, according to IDC.
Apple first launched an online store in India in 2020. Yet, iPhones and MacBooks remain out of the reach of many, including many urban Indians surveyed online by Statista.
British regulators blocked Microsoft's $69 billion deal to buy videogame maker Activision Blizzard over worries that it would stifle competition in the cloud gaming market. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority said in its final report Wednesday that "the only effective remedy" to the significant loss of competition resulting from the deal "is to prohibit the merger".
Microsoft, Activision not to give up: A disappointed Microsoft signalled that it wasn't ready to give up. "We remain fully committed to this acquisition and will appeal," company president Brad Smith said in a statement. He said the UK watchdog's decision "rejects a pragmatic path to address competition concerns" and discourages tech innovation and investment in the country. Activision also fired back, saying it would "work aggressively with Microsoft to reverse this on appeal".
More scrutiny ahead: The all-cash deal was set to be the biggest in the tech industry's history, but not without resistance. Rival Sony was against the deal, which is also under scrutiny by regulators in the US and Europe over fears that it would give Microsoft control of popular game franchises like 'Call of Duty'.
Today’s ETtech Top 5 newsletter was curated by Erick Massey in New Delhi and Megha Mishra in Mumbai. Graphics and illustrations by Rahul Awasthi.
This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.
Also in this letter:
■ India among countries requesting maximum content removal: Twitter
■ Apple India’s desktop, laptop shipments see a sharp fall in Q1
■ UK blocks Microsoft's Activision deal
Billing system: Delhi HC issues notice in Google appeal against single judge order
A division bench of the Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notices in Google’s appeal against a single-judge order directing the CCI to take up the complaints by a section of Indian startups against the tech giant's new in-app purchase billing system.
Background: ET reported on Tuesday that Google has appealed the single-judge order, which had asked the CCI to consider the complaints on or before Wednesday (April 26), the date on which the user choice billing system becomes effective. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the CCI called the concerned parties to hear the matter and asked them to submit documents to support their arguments.
Also read | ETtech Explainer: How complaints by Indian startups against Google brought CCI’s adjudicatory abilities under the scanner
The complaints: The Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) had filed a plea with the court earlier this month seeking an urgent CCI review of Google’s new in-app purchase billing system. It alleged that Google was engaging in anticompetitive conduct by implementing the new policy. ADIF alleged that the competition watchdog’s “inaction” on the tech company’s new billing system had resulted in Google engaging in antitrust practices.
What’s in the new billing system? Under the system proposed by Google, app developers need to pay a commission of 11-26% to the US-based tech giant.
India among countries requesting maximum content removal: Twitter
India was among the countries making the most content removal requests last year, microblogging platform Twitter said on Tuesday. Japan, South Korea and Turkey were also among the other countries that requested the most content removal.
Key numbers: Twitter said it received approximately 53,000 legal requests to remove content from governments across the globe from January 1 to June 30, 2022.
India also topped the list of countries that requested the most user data from the Elon Musk-owned social media platform.
The top five requesting countries seeking account information in H1 2022 were India, the United States, France, Japan, and Germany.
Rule violation: Twitter said that over the reporting period, it required users to remove 6.5 million pieces of content that violated its rules, an increase of 29% from H2 2021.
Most accounts or content were taken down for hateful conduct, abuse, harassment, child sexual exploitation and sensitive media.
EU crackdown looms: The European Union recently said that Twitter would be among 19 tech companies subject to new landmark rules that require them to share data with authorities, do more to tackle disinformation and conduct external and independent auditing.
Failure to comply with the rules, dubbed the world's strictest regulations for online platforms, could result in fines of up to 6% of global revenue or even a ban from operating in the EU.
Google, Microsoft top earnings expectations as AI race heats up
Google parent company Alphabet beat market expectations in the first quarter of 2023 with a net profit of $15 billion. Microsoft, too, surpassed investor estimates as it reported a profit of $18.3 billion on revenue of $52.9 billion.
Google in numbers: Boosted by growth in its cloud-computing division, Alphabet’s total revenue for the period came in at $69.8 billion, a 3% increase over last year. But ad woes weighed on the company’s earnings.
The Sundar Pichai-led firm earned $15.05 billion, or $1.17 per share, an 8% decrease from last year. Google, which has also unveiled a flurry of AI tools for its email application, said it would buy back $70 billion in stock.
What’s up with Microsoft? Microsoft reported a 9% increase in profit for the January-March quarter. The company reported a quarterly profit of $18.3 billion, or $2.45 per share, from $16.73 billion in Q3 2022.
Microsoft’s cloud business posted a robust performance during the quarter, generating revenue of $28.5 billion and registering 22% growth, compared with the year-ago period at $23.4 billion.
Also read | 'AI All-Star' Microsoft's rosy earnings spark rally in tech stocks
AI rivalry: Both tech behemoths talked up investments in artificial intelligence (AI), but results suggested that any substantial additions to sales will be slow.
The two companies said AI was already juicing sales, but neither said when or if they would start breaking out any sales, costs, or profits from the technology, Reuters reported.
Meta and Amazon shares rose 2.3% and 5.3%, respectively, on Tuesday after market hours.
Apple India's desktop, laptop shipments see a sharp fall in Q1
Apple's India shipments of desktops and laptops are expected to have seen a steep decline in the first quarter of 2023 due to an inventory correction and slowing demand among enterprises.
What’s driving the news? Shipments of Apple's Mac PCs in India are expected to show some recovery in the second half of 2023, but growth for the year could still be much slower than the 20% expansion in 2022 and the 100% increase recorded in the year before, market trackers said.
Global decline: Globally, Apple’s PC shipments declined 40.5% on-year in Q1 2023, underperforming a 29% fall for the overall market, on account of weak demand, excess inventory and the worsening macroeconomic climate, as per an IDC report. PCs contribute roughly 10% to Apple’s overall revenue.
Not the apple of India’s eye yet: In the Indian PC market, which is led by HP, Apple still does not feature in the top five PC brands. In the fourth quarter of 2022, HP had a 32.6% market share, compared with Apple's 5.4%, according to IDC.
Apple first launched an online store in India in 2020. Yet, iPhones and MacBooks remain out of the reach of many, including many urban Indians surveyed online by Statista.
Tweet of the day
UK blocks Microsoft's $69 billion Activision deal on competition fears
British regulators blocked Microsoft's $69 billion deal to buy videogame maker Activision Blizzard over worries that it would stifle competition in the cloud gaming market. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority said in its final report Wednesday that "the only effective remedy" to the significant loss of competition resulting from the deal "is to prohibit the merger".
Microsoft, Activision not to give up: A disappointed Microsoft signalled that it wasn't ready to give up. "We remain fully committed to this acquisition and will appeal," company president Brad Smith said in a statement. He said the UK watchdog's decision "rejects a pragmatic path to address competition concerns" and discourages tech innovation and investment in the country. Activision also fired back, saying it would "work aggressively with Microsoft to reverse this on appeal".
More scrutiny ahead: The all-cash deal was set to be the biggest in the tech industry's history, but not without resistance. Rival Sony was against the deal, which is also under scrutiny by regulators in the US and Europe over fears that it would give Microsoft control of popular game franchises like 'Call of Duty'.
Today’s ETtech Top 5 newsletter was curated by Erick Massey in New Delhi and Megha Mishra in Mumbai. Graphics and illustrations by Rahul Awasthi.
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I agree to receive newsletters and marketing communications via e-mail
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We'll soon meet in your inbox.
