Regulators seek probe of Meta

BRUSSELS – British and European regulators threatened to crack down on Google and Facebook parent Meta over an agreement for online display advertising services, saying Friday that the deal may breach rules on fair competition.

The fresh scrutiny in Europe, which is pioneering efforts to rein in big technology companies, strikes at the heart of Google’s business – the digital ads that generate nearly all of its revenue.

In the “ad tech” marketplace bringing together Google and a constellation of online advertisers and publishers, the company controls access to the advertisers that put ads on its dominant search platform. Google also runs the auction process for advertisers to get ads onto a publisher’s site.

The European Union’s top competition watchdog opened an antitrust investigation into a 2018 pact for Meta’s Audience Network to participate in Google’s Open Bidding program.

CNN+ streaming service debuts

NEW YORK – The CNN+ paid streaming service will debut March 29 with programming headlined by network stars like Anderson Cooper, Wolf Blitzer and Jake Tapper, along with poached personalities Audie Cornish, Kasie Hunt and Chris Wallace.

Customers will be charged $5.99 a month or $59.99 to get the service, with a special deal for charter subscribers.

CNN’s announcement on Friday comes a day after MSNBC said that it will offer much of its television lineup on a time-delayed basis on the Peacock Premium streaming service, which is available for $4.99 a month.

From wire reports