Anti-trust rules are tougher outside the U.S. Google Play Store has been required by both EU and UK regulators to allow alternative payment options for in-app purchases. Google resisted, of course, but they ultimately have to comply. They just released a proposal for doing that in the UK. App owners will be incented to favor the Google payment system but aren’t required to use it.
Apple’s initial courtroom victory over Epic Games’ challenge to its app store payment policies was largely reaffirmed in an Appeals Court ruling, The court apparently concluded that requiring apps to pay Apple a hefty commission isn’t monopolistic because people can always switch to Android if they object. People chose phones largely for their app store payment rules, right?
Outbrain is a native advertising platform, which means it posts those click-baity stories crowding the margins of many web sites. They’ve just partnered with Assertive Yield, which analyzes the revenue those stories generate. The deal will let Outbrain’s clients optimize their content selections based on real-time performance. It’s one more example of combining data from two sources to tie ads to results.
Procrastinators of the world can throw a party whenever they get around to it: Google has once more pushed back complete third-party cookie deprecation. The new target is “early next year.” Reasons for the delay include concerns expressed by U.K. data regulator Information Commissioner’s Office, an ongoing inquiry by the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority, and widespread discontent in the advertising ecosystem.