Breaking News
Investing Pro 0
Final hours: unlock premium data with Claim 60% OFF

Google removes some IAC browser extensions for 'policy violations'

Published Dec 06, 2020 04:14PM ET
Saved. See Saved Items.
This article has already been saved in your Saved Items
 
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logos of mobile apps, Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Netflix, are displayed on a screen in this illustration picture
 
GOOGL
-1.42%
Add to/Remove from Watchlist
Add to Watchlist
Add Position

Position added successfully to:

Please name your holdings portfolio
 
GOOG
-1.31%
Add to/Remove from Watchlist
Add to Watchlist
Add Position

Position added successfully to:

Please name your holdings portfolio
 

By Kanishka Singh

(Reuters) - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc's Google said on Sunday it has removed a number of browser extensions of online conglomerate IAC/InterActive Corp for "policy violations" and is reviewing "enforcement options."

"We continue to have conversations with IAC related to Chrome Web Store policies and we have already removed a number of their extensions for violating our policies", a Google spokesman said in a statement emailed to Reuters.

"We're reviewing the remaining extensions and our enforcement options, and have not made a decision regarding IAC's status on the store", the statement added.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that Google was deciding whether to impose severe penalties on IAC over what Google concluded were "deceptive marketing practices".

The report added that Google determined that IAC misled users about its browser extensions and that the Alphabet unit could go as far as banning those products from its Chrome browser.

In the statement to Reuters, Google's spokesman did not specify which precise policies it felt were violated by IAC and did not mention what exact options it was considering.

An IAC spokeswoman disputed that the extensions violated Google policies. "Google has taken hundreds of millions of dollars from us to advertise and distribute these products in the Chrome Store," she told Reuters in an emailed statement.

"There's nothing new here - Google has used their position to reduce our browser business to the last small corner of the internet, which they're now seeking to quash," the statement added.

Google's investigators found that IAC's browser extensions often promise functions they do not deliver and steer users toward extra ads, the WSJ reported, citing sources and documents.

Google so far has not acted on the internal recommendation of its Chrome trust and safety team regarding IAC in part because the two are rivals in some categories and because Google executives are concerned penalties could be viewed as anti-competitive, the newspaper reported https://on.wsj.com/2JZcHf1.

The IAC spokeswoman said Google had approved its extensions in the Chrome Store for years as part of the companies' partnership agreement.

"Google exercises significant control over what we do with these products", she said in the statement.

Google removes some IAC browser extensions for 'policy violations'
 

Related Articles

Add a Comment

Comment Guidelines

We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:  

  •            Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.

  •           Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed. 

  •           Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.

  • Use standard writing style. Include punctuation and upper and lower cases. Comments that are written in all caps and contain excessive use of symbols will be removed.
  • NOTE: Spam and/or promotional messages and comments containing links will be removed. Phone numbers, email addresses, links to personal or business websites, Skype/Telegram/WhatsApp etc. addresses (including links to groups) will also be removed; self-promotional material or business-related solicitations or PR (ie, contact me for signals/advice etc.), and/or any other comment that contains personal contact specifcs or advertising will be removed as well. In addition, any of the above-mentioned violations may result in suspension of your account.
  • Doxxing. We do not allow any sharing of private or personal contact or other information about any individual or organization. This will result in immediate suspension of the commentor and his or her account.
  • Don’t monopolize the conversation. We appreciate passion and conviction, but we also strongly believe in giving everyone a chance to air their point of view. Therefore, in addition to civil interaction, we expect commenters to offer their opinions succinctly and thoughtfully, but not so repeatedly that others are annoyed or offended. If we receive complaints about individuals who take over a thread or forum, we reserve the right to ban them from the site, without recourse.
  • Only English comments will be allowed.
  • Any comment you publish, together with your investing.com profile, will be public on investing.com and may be indexed and available through third party search engines, such as Google.

Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.

Write your thoughts here
 
Are you sure you want to delete this chart?
 
Post
Post also to:
 
Replace the attached chart with a new chart ?
1000
Your ability to comment is currently suspended due to negative user reports. Your status will be reviewed by our moderators.
Please wait a minute before you try to comment again.
Thanks for your comment. Please note that all comments are pending until approved by our moderators. It may therefore take some time before it appears on our website.
Comments (2)
Kaveh Sun
Kaveh Sun Dec 06, 2020 7:33PM ET
Saved. See Saved Items.
This comment has already been saved in your Saved Items
Chrome is the king browser
Marco cuevas
Marco cuevas Dec 06, 2020 5:11PM ET
Saved. See Saved Items.
This comment has already been saved in your Saved Items
Plenty of browsers out there better than you guys with less restrictions no big loss.
 
Are you sure you want to delete this chart?
 
Post
 
Replace the attached chart with a new chart ?
1000
Your ability to comment is currently suspended due to negative user reports. Your status will be reviewed by our moderators.
Please wait a minute before you try to comment again.
Add Chart to Comment
Confirm Block

Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?

By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.

%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List

Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.

Report this comment

I feel that this comment is:

Comment flagged

Thank You!

Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Continue with Google
or
Sign up with Email