THE NEWS WRAP: Google could face $8 billion penalty for allegedly stifling competition

Google could face a fine of more than $8 billion if the European Commission proves it has abused its dominance of the internet to the detriment of competitors, according to The New York Times.

The tech giant is accused of giving more prominence to its own products and services ahead of competitors during Google searches, thereby stifling competition.

However, the company has hit back at the claims, saying thanks to its search engine consumers now have more choice than ever before.

Google Search’s senior vice president Amit Singhal said in a statement the company strongly disagrees with the allegations and “look[s] forward to making our case over the weeks ahead”.

“While Google may be the most used search engine, people can now find and access information in numerous different ways – and allegations of harm, for consumers and competitors, have [previously] proved to be wide of the mark,” he said.

On-demand food delivery service Sprig raises $US45 million

A San Francisco on-demand food delivery startup specialising in healthy meals has raised $US45 million in Series B funding in order to expand the service nationally.

Co-founder and chief executive of Sprig, Gagan Biyani, said in a statement the latest capital injection will mean the company will be able to expand into the wider Bay Area first before setting up shop in other cities.

“We will also be taking our first step in national expansion by launching Sprig Chicago – a city we’ve long admired for its amazing food and tech community,” he said.

“I’m so thrilled to continue our journey to bring Sprig to everyone in America, and to do that, we’ll also need to grow our incredible team.”

Netflix reports $US1.57 billion revenue for first quarter

Streaming giant Netflix has reported $US1.57 billion in revenue for the first quarter as well as almost 5 million new users.

House of Cards has proved to be the most popular show with users, with the company vowing to spend money on promoting original content instead of the parts of the “Netflix brand and service that are now more familiar to consumers”.

“We are also spending a bigger proportion of our marketing dollars online,” the company said in a statement to shareholders.

“This allows us to more finely target audiences and to deliver the right marketing message to the right person at the right time, particularly on mobile devices.”

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 75.91 points, rising 0.42% to 18,112.61. The Aussie dollar is currently trading at around 76.8 US cents.

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