BRUSSELS: EU antitrust regulators opened on Friday an investigation into Alphabet unit Google and Facebook’s online display advertising services deal to check if it violates the bloc’s competition rules.
The European Commission said the investigation will focus on a 2018 deal between Facebook and Google dubbed Jedi Blue that may thwart ad tech rivals and restrict competition.
“Via the so-called ‘Jedi Blue’ agreement between Google and Meta, a competing technology to Google’s Open Bidding may have been targeted with the aim to weaken it and exclude it from the market for displaying ads on publisher websites and apps,” European antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.
The UK antitrust authority is also investigating the deal. The EU competition watchdog said it intends to cooperate closely with its British counterpart.
Google and Facebook, now renamed Meta, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
An amended antitrust complaint filed by Texas and 15 other US states against Google said the chief executives of both companies were aware of the deal to carve up part of the online advertising market.
EU opens Google-Facebook advertising deal investigation
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EU opens Google-Facebook advertising deal investigation
- The UK antitrust authority is also investigating the deal
Australia asks for meeting with Roblox after grooming, content complaints
- The Australian government wrote to the US-listed tech firm expressing “grave concern” about reports that children were being approached by predators and exposed to harmful material
SYDNEY: The Australian government has called a meeting with gaming platform Roblox over reports of child grooming and exposure to graphic content on the platform, while a regulator said it will test whether Roblox had delivered on child-safety commitments.
Communications Minister Anika Wells said she wrote to the US-listed tech firm expressing “grave concern” about reports that children were being approached by predators and exposed to harmful material.
“The reports we’ve been hearing about children being exposed to graphic content on Roblox and predators actively using the platform to groom young people are horrendous,” Wells said in a statement.
“Australian parents and children expect more from Roblox.”
A Roblox spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.
The statement shows a cooling relationship between Australia and the popular gaming platform which rolled out age-assurance in 2025 to limit online chats to narrow age windows and prevent child grooming. Australia’s eSafety Commissioner welcomed the measure and recommended against including Roblox in a social media ban which began in December.
The Commissioner said it will test Roblox’s age-based safety features, and noted that it could seek fines of up to A$49.5 million (USD) if the platform had failed to comply with the country’s online child protection laws.
“We remain highly concerned by ongoing reports regarding the exploitation of children on the Roblox service, and exposure to harmful material,” Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said.
