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Australia has convicted Norway-based shipping company Wallenius Wilhelmsen with criminal cartel conduct and fined the company $24 million.
The conviction brings to a close a wide-ranging investigation by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) into the international cartel involving several international shipping companies related to shipping of vehicles to Australia from Asia, Europe and the United States on behalf of major car manufacturers.
In August 2017, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) was fined $25 million, while K-Line was fined $34.5 million in August 2019, which remains the largest criminal fine ordered under the Competition and Consumer Act. WWO’s sentencing brings the total fines to $83.5 between the three shipping companies.
Google’s dominance of digital advertising technology in Australia needs to be addressed, the country’s competition watchdog said, opening up another front in its battle with the U.S. giant.
Google’s Advertising Dominance Now in the Crosshairs of Australian Regulators
Google’s dominance of the multibillion-dollar online advertising space is now under scrutiny by Australia’s competition watchdog, opening a new front in its battle to regulate the tech giant.
The Australian Competition Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) released the report (pdf) amid an ongoing effort to implement the News Media Bargaining Code, which will compel Google and Facebook to pay news media companies for displaying their content.
The ACCC interim report estimates that Google controls 50 to 100 percent of the supply chains (depending on the service) that underpins the AU$3.4 billion digital advertising (excluding classifieds and search) market in the country.