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Italy's Antitrust Takes Aim at Google over Personal Data Usage

FILED - 09 January 2024, US, Las Vegas: The Google logo can be seen on the Internet company's pavilion at the CES technology trade fair. Photo: Andrej Sokolow/dpa
FILED - 09 January 2024, US, Las Vegas: The Google logo can be seen on the Internet company's pavilion at the CES technology trade fair. Photo: Andrej Sokolow/dpa
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Italy's Antitrust Takes Aim at Google over Personal Data Usage

FILED - 09 January 2024, US, Las Vegas: The Google logo can be seen on the Internet company's pavilion at the CES technology trade fair. Photo: Andrej Sokolow/dpa
FILED - 09 January 2024, US, Las Vegas: The Google logo can be seen on the Internet company's pavilion at the CES technology trade fair. Photo: Andrej Sokolow/dpa

Italy's antitrust agency said on Thursday it had launched an investigation into online search giant Google and its parent company Alphabet over alleged unfair commercial practices involving users' personal data.
The request for consent that Google sends to its users to connect its multiple services "could constitute misleading and aggressive commercial practice", the watchdog said.
This "incomplete and misleading," information supplied to users fails to clarify the impact their consent may have on the use their personal data, the antitrust authority, which is in charge of overseeing consumer rights, added.
Google offers a wide range of online tools, including video platform YouTube, email service Gmail, and Maps.
The antitrust body said Google presented its request for users' consent in a way that could limit their freedom of choice, by inducing them to agree to a combined usage of personal data by different Google services.
"We will analyze the details of this case and will work cooperatively with the authority," a Google spokesperson said in a statement.
Under Italian legislation companies found in breach of consumer rights rules face fines ranging from 5,000 euros to 10 million euros.

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Saudi Arabia Ranks Second Among G20 in ICT Development for Second Year

A night view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
A night view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Ranks Second Among G20 in ICT Development for Second Year

A night view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
A night view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia ranked second among the Group of Twenty (G20) countries for the second consecutive time in the 2024 ICT Development Index published by the United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

The index tracks the digital development and progress of 170 countries in information and communication technology (ICT) services through sub-indicators divided into two axes: inclusive and effective communication.

The Kingdom also ranked first among the G20 countries in the effective communication axis and second in the inclusive communication axis, underscoring the continuous development of the communication and technology sector in the Kingdom, and its efforts to build and strengthen it.

These efforts have helped in achieving the global ranking and boosting the Kingdom's leadership in relevant international indices.

The Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) said the Kingdom's continuous progress in the index highlights the strength of its digital infrastructure and its contribution to driving the growth and development of the digital economy, as well as attracting investments.

The Kingdom's communication and technology market is the largest and fastest growing in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with an estimated value of SR166 billion.

The penetration rate of mobile subscriptions has reached 198% of the population, and the average monthly data consumption per capita in the Kingdom exceeds the global average by threefold.

The ICT Development Index published by the ITU measures digital development and the strength of digital infrastructure, providing comprehensive and transparent data and methodology that were developed in partnership with member states and expert teams in the field.