Global Marketing News – 22nd April 2016
Google charged with Android abuse by EU
Google has been formally issued antitrust charges by the European Commission.
The company is accused of being in breach of EU laws of competition by placing stifling requirements on the manufacturers of Android handsets that prevented free choice for customers.
Fairsearch, the leading complainant in the case against Google, said that the American company made manufacturers use key apps such as YouTube or Google Play and that nearly all phone makers in the EU had bowed to the demands.
Google has responded and said that it “looked forward to working with the European Commission”.
This comes one year after Google was charged by the EU again for distorting search results to the detriment of the rivals of its own shopping services.
Samsung India to launch hyperlocal strategy
Samsung India is working with marketplaces such as Amazon and Flipkart to introduce hyperlocal strategy to online sales in the country.
By fulfilling online orders through dedicated local shops, Samsung hopes to be able to ensure faster delivery and smaller costs allowing it to compete with offline stores.
The company will route all orders by the buyer’s PIN code and says that this will increase the ease of installation for customers on items such as appliances and televisions.
Currently using multiple sellers on Amazon, Samsung will use this new strategy to try to overcome new regulations in ecommerce that cap the sales of single sellers online.
Russia pushes for tighter internet censorship
Russia’s Investigative Committee has proposed measures against what it calls the information war that the US and its allies are pursuing against the country.
The head of the committee, Alexander Bastrykin, revealed in an article published this week that he intended to introduce rulings that included imposing strong restrictions on the internet.
He said that the war had resulted in the growth of extremism in the country and that it would be beneficial to follow the example of China in the dealing of internet censorship.
If these changes are accepted however, it will require an overhaul of the countries legal system where that level of censorship is banned by law leading some critics to believe it is unlikely to happen.
US teens prefer Snapchat to Instagram
According to a survey by Piper Jaffray, teenagers in the US are now using Snapchat more than Instagram for the first time.
Of the 6,500 teens surveyed, 28% of respondents said they considered Snapchat their most important social network, just ahead of Instagram with 27%.
With 18%, Twitter came a similar margin ahead of Facebook on 17%.
In the same survey last year, only 19% of teens chose Snapchat as their most important social network, with over 33% choosing Instagram, representing a large shift in usage in that age group in just one year.
Currently Snapchat has 100 million active users and rivals Facebook with 8 billion videos created every day.
Queen Elizabeth II seeks social media whiz
And finally, after celebrating her 90th birthday this week, The Queen of England is looking for a social media whiz to expand her online presence!
The job for the new ‘Head of Digital Engagement’ will pay the successful candidate a salary of £50,000 and asks them to “hone and shape” the monarch’s digital communications.
The role itself is described as requiring someone who is fast-paced and deadline driven, and will require the new employee to consistently spark interest at anything from a state visit to awards ceremonies.
After making her Twitter debut in 2014, the Queen’s official account has now gathered more than 2 million followers.
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Cal O'Connell
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Hi Cal,
Thanks for sharing the news… Google’s answer that they are looking forward working with the European Commission, after they have been accused for breaking EU laws, was incredible.