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R3's Penelope Siraj on Google's Epic Lawsuit, Greenwashing, and Content Moderation

ExchangeWire's John Still and Rachel Smith are joined by Penelope Siraj of R3 for this week's MadTech Podcast. Tune in as they discuss three news stories, all with a legal angle and far ranging ramifications for the media industries.

This week's stories

Dove and Marmite maker Unilever to be investigated in UK over ‘greenwashing’ (The Guardian

How careful do advertisers need to be with green claims?

Unilever, the maker of Dove, Marmite, and Vaseline, has come under the scrutiny of the UK’s competition watchdog – the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) – over concerns that the company is misleading consumers with ‘green’ claims on its products. The watchdog suggested that Unilever is overstating how green certain products are, through the use of vague environmental claims, and unclear statements around recyclability. Unilever will cooperate with the investigation but are ‘surprised and disappointed’ by the claims.

Epic win: Jury decides Google has illegal monopoly in app store fight (The Verge)

Another week, another lawsuit: will this one stick? 

Epic looks set to secure a win in its lawsuit against Google, which alleges that Google turned its Google Play app store and Google Play Billing service into an illegal monopoly; the jury agreed that the tech giant has monopoly power in the Android app distribution markets and in-app billing services markets, has behaved anti-competitively and that Epic was injured by that behaviour. The tie between Google’s Play app store and its Play Billing payment was also deemed illegal.

IAB Joins Leading Tech and Civil Society Groups Urging Supreme Court to Overturn Texas and Florida Laws Preventing Content Moderation (CBS)

Should platforms be able to moderate content? 

The IAB has joined Chamber of Progress, Access Now, Consumer Technology Association, and other leading tech and civil society groups in an amicus brief supporting NetChoice and Computer & Communications Industry Association  in a lawsuit challenging state laws which prohibit content moderation. The laws look to prohibit social media platforms from censoring users views, placing restrictions on engaging in certain types of content moderation.