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Israel: Facebook and Google face heat in Israel

By  |  January 8, 2018

On Monday, January 7, Israel’s antitrust regulator said it will look at the business practices of internet giants such as Facebook and Google to make sure they are not stifling competition, according to Reuters.

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    “We will look closely at the activity of the internet giants to see whether they are abusing their power and breaching the Anti-Trust Authority’s rules,” the head of the authority, Michal Halperin, told parliament’s Economic Affairs Committee.

    “The big internet companies, such as Google and Facebook have a sufficient presence in Israel in terms of antitrust laws … the law applies to them even if they are not registered in Israel,” Halperin said.

    According to Reuters, the authority will examine whether such companies were misusing their advantages in order to push other players out and monopolize the market, she said.

    Representatives for Facebook and Google who were at the meeting said they were law abiding and provided a platform for Israeli businesses to thrive.

    Israel’s traditional media market faces a crisis in the digital age as advertising shrinks and revenues fall. Google and Facebook take an estimated 80% of advertising revenues in Israel of between US$436 million and US$494 million a year.

    Full Content: Reuters

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