WASHINGTON: Pressure is rising on Big Tech firms, signaling tougher regulation in Washington and elsewhere that could lead to the breakup of the largest platforms. But you’d hardly know by looking at their share prices.
Shares in Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Google parent Alphabet have hovered near record highs in recent weeks, lifted by pandemic-fueled surges in sales and profits that have helped the big firms extend their dominance of key economic sectors.
The Biden administration has given signs of more aggressive regulation with appointments of Big Tech critics at the Federal Trade Commission.
But that has failed to dent the momentum of the largest tech firms, despite tough talk and antitrust litigation in the United States and Europe, with US lawmakers eyeing moves to make antitrust enforcement easier.
Big Tech critics in the United States and the EU want Apple and Google to loosen the grip of their online app marketplaces; more competition in a digital advertising market dominated by Google and Facebook; and better access to Amazon’s e-commerce platform by third-party sellers.
One lawsuit tossed out by a judge but in the process of being refiled could force Facebook to spin off its Instagram and WhatsApp platforms, and some activists and lawmakers are pressing for breakups of the four tech giants.
All four have hit market valuations above $1 trillion, with Apple over $2 trillion. Alphabet shares are up some 80 percent from a year ago, with Facebook up nearly 40 percent and Apple almost 30 percent. Amazon shares are roughly on par with last year’s level after breaking records in July.
Microsoft, with a $2 trillion valuation, has largely escaped antitrust scrutiny, even as it has benefitted from the cloud computing trend.
The surging growth has stoked complaints that the strongest firms are extending their dominance and squeezing out rivals.
Yet analysts say any aggressive actions, in the legal or legislative arena, could take years to play out and face challenges.
“Breakup is going to be nearly impossible,” said analyst Daniel Newman at Futurum Research, citing the need for controversial legislative changes to antitrust laws.
Newman said a more likely outcome would be multibillion-dollar fines that the companies could easily absorb as they adjust their business models to adapt to problematic issues in a fast-moving environment.
“These companies have more resources and know-how than the regulators,” he said.
Dan Ives at Wedbush Securities said any antitrust action would likely require legislative change — unlikely with a divided Congress.
“Until investors start to see some consensus on where the regulatory and law changes go from an antitrust perspective, it’s a contained risk, and they see a green light to buy tech,” he said.
Other factors supporting Big Tech include a massive shift to cloud computing and online activities that allow the strongest players to benefit, and a crackdown in China on its large technology firms.
“The China regulatory crackdown has been so massive in scale and scope, it has driven investors from Chinese tech to US tech,” Ives said.
“Even though there is regulatory risk in the US, it pales in comparison to the crackdown we’re seeing from Beijing.”
Analysts say the big tech firms are also well-positioned to deal with tougher regulations.
Tracy Li of the investment firm Capital Group, in a recent blog post that the tech giants face major risks in regulation around privacy, content moderation and antitrust.
“Concerns related to privacy or content may actually strengthen, rather than weaken, the moats of the largest platforms,” Li said.
“These companies often boast well-established protocols and have more resources to tackle privacy and legal matters.”
Other analysts point to the swift movement by tech firms to adapt their business models in contrast to the slow efforts to regulate.
Facebook, for example, is adapting to changing conditions by moving into the “Metaverse” of virtual and augmented reality experiences, noted Ali Mogharabi at Morningstar.
Mogharabi said Facebook’s vast data collected from its 2.5 billion users gives it the ability to withstand a regulatory onslaught.
“Antitrust enforcement and further regulations pose a threat to Facebook’s intangible assets, data,” the analyst said in a July 29 note.
“However, increased restrictions on data access and usage would apply to all firms, not just Facebook.”
Independent analyst Eric Seufert said in a tweet that “regulatory changes will have a significant impact on Facebook’s business, but the sheer scale of Facebook and the growth trajectory of digital advertising ameliorate that. Facebook’s gold mine is far from depleted.”
Newman said the large tech firms have expanded during the pandemic by delivering innovative services, extending a trend that has seen the strong get stronger.
“These platforms have created better experiences for consumers, but it is extremely difficult for new entrants,” he said.
For investors, Newman added, “that means no one is creating revenue and profit growth faster.”
Big Tech rolls on as investors shrug off regulatory pressure
https://arab.news/gmwxq
Big Tech rolls on as investors shrug off regulatory pressure
- Shares in Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Google parent Alphabet have hovered near record highs in recent weeks
- Big Tech critics in the United States and the EU want Apple and Google to loosen the grip of their online app marketplaces
Saudi’s Manga Productions, Japan’s KOEI TECMO announce new gaming partnership
- Manga Productions licensed for Nioh 3 in Mideast, North Africa
- Full Arabic support for region’s gamers, says CEO Essam Bukhary
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Manga Productions has announced a partnership with Japan’s KOEI TECMO as the publisher of the highly anticipated action game Nioh 3 in the Middle East and North Africa region.
According to a recent Saudi Press Agency report, the game is scheduled for release in early 2026 on PlayStation 5 and Steam.
Nioh 3 is the latest installment in the popular RPG series known for its mysterious samurai setting, earning widespread acclaim for its unique blend of Japanese mythology and intense combat.
The series has achieved global success, selling over 8 million copies worldwide. This new installment features an open-world environment and innovative combat system that allows players to switch between “samurai” and “ninja” fighting styles during battles.
As a part of this collaboration, Manga Productions will handle its Arabic translation, marketing and publishing for the Middle East and North Africa region.
Manga Productions, which is a subsidiary of the Mohammed bin Salman Foundation, will engage Saudi creators in the localization process to ensure a culturally relevant experience for Arabic-speaking gamers.
Dr. Essam Bukhary, CEO of Manga Productions, stated: “The launch of Nioh 3 with full Arabic support for gamers in the region is an additional step towards delivering world-class experiences while empowering Saudi talent at every stage of development.”
He added: “The trust we have earned from our global partners reflects Manga Productions’ capabilities in publishing, distribution, and marketing, as well as our continued success in professionally delivering high-quality content to audiences in the region while respecting local culture.”
Hisashi Koinuma, president and chief operating officer of KOEI TECMO, said the success of DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS has further strengthened the partnership with Manga Productions to bring Nioh 3 to Arabic-speaking gamers.
Abdulaziz Al-Naghmoush, head of business development and content licensing at Manga Productions, welcomed the pact.
“Following our collaboration on DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS, which was well-received for delivering a uniquely localized Arabic experience, we are now taking a new step with Nioh 3.”
He said the offering would be a “seamless, localized experience that makes players feel as if it was made especially for them from day one.”
WhatsApp to start showing ads to users in parts of the messaging app
- WhatsApp said ads will be targeted to users based on information like their age, the country or city where they’re located, the language they’re using, the channels they’re following in the app, and how they’re interacting with the ads they see
WhatsApp said Monday that users will start seeing ads in parts of the app, as owner Meta Platforms moves to cultivate a new revenue stream by tapping the billions of people that use the messaging service.
Advertisements will be shown only in the app’s Updates tab, which is used by as many as 1.5 billion people each day. However, they won’t appear where personal chats are located, developers said.
“The personal messaging experience on WhatsApp isn’t changing, and personal messages, calls and statuses are end-to-end encrypted and cannot be used to show ads,” WhatsApp said in a blog post.
It’s a big change for the company, whose founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton vowed to keep the platform free of ads when they created it in 2009.
Facebook purchased WhatsApp in 2014 and the pair left a few years later. Parent company Meta Platforms Inc. has long been trying to generate revenue from WhatsApp.
WhatsApp said ads will be targeted to users based on information like their age, the country or city where they’re located, the language they’re using, the channels they’re following in the app, and how they’re interacting with the ads they see.
WhatsApp said it won’t use personal messages, calls and groups that a user is a member of to target ads to the user.
It’s one of three advertising features that WhatsApp unveiled on Monday as it tries to monetize the app’s user base. Channels will also be able to charge users a monthly fee for subscriptions so they can get exclusive updates. And business owners will be able to pay to promote their channel’s visibility to new users.
Most of Meta’s revenue comes from ads. In 2025, the Menlo Park, California-based company’s revenue totaled $164.5 billion and $160.6 billion of it came from advertising.
Israel strikes Iran’s state broadcaster building
- Online footage online shows IRIB’s Glass Building engulfed in flames after the attack
LONDON: Israel has launched an airstrike on the headquarters of Iran’s state broadcaster, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, in central Tehran, according to numerous videos circulating on social media on Monday.
Footage shared online appeared to show the Glass Building of the IRIB engulfed in flames after the strike.
One widely circulated clip shows the moment a missile hit the facility during a live broadcast — the presenter, Sahar Emami, is seen on-air before a loud explosion interrupts the feed.
Smoke and debris fill the room as the presenter takes cover and a man is heard shouting. Iran’s state-run media confirmed the attack, directly attributing it to Israel.
Israel has attacked the building of the state radio and TV broadcaster IRIB in Tehran. pic.twitter.com/QHlrPatHVe
— nofmgeopolitics (@nofmgeopolitics) June 16, 2025
According to the first reports, there were several casualties although the exact number has not officially been released.
Videos posted online show significant damage to the building, which appeared to be on fire.
London-based news channel Iran International, reported that IRIB resumed broadcasting from another studio after the attack, with Emami joining the Khabar Network’s live broadcast.
The strike came shortly after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on Monday that Iran’s state media outlets would soon be targeted.
The famous Glass Building of Iran's state broadcaster is on fire following the Israeli airstrikes, a report by the state TV shows.
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) June 16, 2025
The broadcasting has resumed from another studio. pic.twitter.com/GC2sJhv1Rl
“The Iranian propaganda and incitement megaphone is about to disappear,” he said in a statement earlier on Monday, adding that nearby residents had been urged to evacuate.
“In the coming hours, the (Israeli military) will operate in the area, as it has in recent days throughout Tehran, to strike military infrastructure of the Iranian regime,” the military said in a post in Persian on X.
The strike hit an upmarket district of Tehran, home to several diplomatic and international offices, including the embassies of Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait, as well as UN buildings and the Agence France-Presse bureau.
The area also contains major medical facilities and a large police headquarters, raising concerns over the broader impact of the strike.
Ex-Syrian commander claims Assad ordered execution of missing US journalist Tice: BBC
- Maj. Gen. Bassam al-Hassan said to have tried to dissuade former Syrian president but ultimately relayed order
- BBC claims US officials met Hassan in Beirut at least three times, are investigating the uncorroborated account
LONDON: A former Syrian commander who allegedly oversaw the detention of missing American journalist Austin Tice claims that ex-President Bashar Assad personally ordered Tice’s execution, according to a BBC investigation released over the weekend.
The report centers on Maj. Gen. Bassam al-Hassan, a former commander in the elite Republican Guard and one of Assad’s most trusted advisers. According to the BBC, Hassan spoke to FBI and CIA officials about Tice’s fate during at least three meetings in Lebanon, one of which reportedly took place inside the US embassy compound.
Hassan, who also served as chief of staff of the National Defense Forces — a pro-regime paramilitary group previously linked by the BBC to Tice’s abduction — allegedly oversaw the facility where the journalist was held. Sources close to Hassan said that in 2013, following Tice’s brief escape attempt, he was instructed to execute him.
According to the sources, Hassan initially sought to dissuade Assad but ultimately relayed the order, which was then carried out. The detail of Tice’s escape attempt aligns with prior reports, including a Reuters investigation citing witnesses who recalled seeing “an American man, dressed in ragged clothing” attempting to escape through the streets of Damascus’ upscale Mazzeh neighborhood — believed to be Tice’s final sighting.
Tice disappeared in August 2012 while reporting on Syria’s civil war in the Damascus suburbs, just days after his 31st birthday. A former US Marine captain who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan, Tice was working as a freelance journalist while studying for a law degree at Georgetown University. He was abducted while preparing to leave the country to go to Lebanon.
For years, the Assad regime has denied any knowledge of Tice’s whereabouts or involvement in his disappearance. However, the BBC previously reported that classified documents obtained during its investigation supported long-standing suspicions by US authorities that Damascus was directly involved. The latest investigation suggests that Tice was held in the notorious Tahouneh prison, a regime-controlled facility in Damascus. Hassan is also said to have provided the US officials with possible locations for Tice’s remains, though efforts to verify his claims are ongoing.
“There is not anything, at least at this time, to corroborate what (Hassan) is saying,” a source familiar with the investigation told The Washington Post. “The flip side of it is, with his role in the regime, it’s hard to understand why he would want to lie about something like that.”
Despite the recent developments, skepticism persists. Western intelligence officials expressed doubt that Assad would have issued a direct kill order, noting that the Syrian president typically relies on intermediaries to insulate himself from such decisions.
Speaking to the BBC during a recent trip to Lebanon, Tice’s mother, Debra Tice, said she believed Hassan may have told US officials “a story they wanted to hear” to help close the case.
“I am his mother. I still believe that my son is alive and that he will walk free,” she said.
A former NDF member also told the BBC that Tice was viewed as a valuable bargaining chip for possible negotiations with Washington.
According to the report, Hassan fled to Iran following the collapse of the Syrian regime in December. He was later contacted by phone and invited to Lebanon to meet US officials, who assured him he would not be detained.
The BBC revelations come on the heels of an interview published by The Economist with Safwan Bahloul, a three-star general who previously served in Syria’s external intelligence agency and was tasked with interrogating Tice.
Bahloul, who speaks fluent English and has lived in Britain, said Hassan assigned him to question Tice and handed him the American’s iPhone. His mission was to determine whether Tice was “merely a journalist” or “an American spy.”
Bahloul also said Hassan orchestrated the recording of a video, released on YouTube in September 2012, that showed Tice blindfolded and surrounded by armed men. US intelligence later concluded that the video had been staged by the regime to suggest that Tice was being held by Islamic militants.
TikTok rolls out AI-powered tools to turn text into video ads
- Advertisers will be able to upload an image or write a text prompt to generate five-second video clips
- New features announced on Monday at the Cannes Lions advertising festival
LONDON: TikTok is rolling out new advertising tools powered by artificial intelligence that give marketers the ability to turn text or still images into AI-generated video ads.
The ByteDance-owned platform announced the new features on Monday during the Cannes Lions advertising festival in France.
The features, part of TikTok’s Symphony product suite, allow advertisers to upload an image or write a text prompt describing their desired ad. TikTok’s AI then generates five-second video clips that can be used as advertisements.
The text and image-to-video features build on similar AI-powered services introduced by TikTok in 2024, which allow marketers to use AI-generated avatars — AI-enhanced digital spokespeople — to promote and sell products on the platform.
AI-generated ads are the latest frontier for social media platforms, which have been investing heavily in AI to automate processes such as content moderation, misinformation detection, and content creation for advertisers and creators seeking more cost-effective ways to produce material for social media.
With such tools, platforms hope to attract marketers to expand their advertising budgets.
Recently, Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta announced it was testing new tools that allow advertisers to create marketing content, including images and messaging, using generative AI prompts.
