SYDNEY: A small Australian news website has made an unusual request to be sued by Fox News boss Lachlan Murdoch, taking on one of the world’s most influential media figures.
Crikey, an often pugilistic Australian news site, published on Monday a series of legal threats it said it received from Murdoch’s lawyers over commentary it published about Fox News’ role in the US Capitol attacks.
Murdoch is the eldest son of billionaire media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, owner of scores of outlets including Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post.
His lawyers claimed a June article — headlined “Trump is a confirmed unhinged traitor. And Murdoch is his unindicted co-conspirator” — had defamed the media scion 22 times.
The article was mostly focused on former US president Donald Trump’s role in the January 6, 2021 insurrection attempt.
It did not name Lachlan Murdoch specifically but it referred to the “Murdochs and their slew of poisonous Fox News commentators.”
Crikey said it had decided to “fight” the threats from Murdoch’s lawyers and rebuffed their demands to permanently remove the article from its website and publish an apology.
“We want to defend those allegations in court,” Crikey’s editor and chairman said in a joint open letter, published Monday as an advertisement in The New York Times.
The pair framed the issue as a battle for press freedom, and said they welcomed the opportunity “to test this important issue of freedom of public interest journalism in a courtroom.”
The legal tussle pits an upstart website, with subscriber numbers in the low tens of thousands, against one of the world’s largest media empires.
If the case moves ahead, Crikey will have to face Australia’s tough libel laws, which offer little protection to media.
The Murdoch family remains a major player in the Australian media, despite its global expansion into the United States and Britain.
Fox Corporation declined to comment.
Australian news site vows to fight ‘threats’ of Fox News boss
https://arab.news/vx9yw
Australian news site vows to fight ‘threats’ of Fox News boss
- Fox News boss Lachlan Murdoch is one of the world’s most influential media figures
- Crikey, an often pugilistic Australian news site, ssys it had decided to ‘fight’ the threats from Murdoch’s lawyers
Apple, Google offer app store changes under new UK rules
LONDON: Apple and Google have pledged changes to ensure fairness in their app stores, the UK competition watchdog said Tuesday, describing it as “first steps” under its tougher regulation of technology giants.
The Competition and Markets Authority placed the two companies under “strategic market status” last year, giving it powers to impose stricter rules on their mobile platforms.
Apple and Google have submitted packages of commitments to improve fairness and transparency in their app stores, which the CMA is now consulting market participants on.
The proposals cover data collection, how apps are reviewed and ranked and improved access to their mobile operating systems.
They aim to prevent Apple and Google from giving priority to their own apps and to ensure businesses receive fairer terms for delivering apps to customers, including better access to tools to compete with services like the Apple digital wallet.
“These are important first steps while we continue to work on a broad range of additional measures to improve Apple and Google’s app store services in the UK,” said CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell.
The commitments mark the first changes proposed by US tech giants in response to the UK’s digital markets regulation, which came into force last year.
The UK framework is similar to a tech competition law from the European Union, the Digital Markets Act, which carries the potential for hefty financial penalties.
“The commitments announced today allow Apple to continue advancing important privacy and security innovations for users and great opportunities for developers,” an Apple spokesperson said.
The CMA in October found that Apple and Google held an “effective duopoly,” with around 90 to 100 percent of UK mobile services running on their platforms.
A Google spokesperson said existing practices in its Play online store are “fair, objective and transparent.”
“We welcome the opportunity to resolve the CMA’s concerns collaboratively,” they added.
The changes are set to take effect in April, subject to the outcome of a market consultation.
