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How German authorities are cracking down on Google

Germany's antitrust regulator on Wednesday criticised the way Google handles users' data and threatened action against the US tech giant.

A man uses the popular search engine Google.
A man uses the popular search engine Google. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Karl-Josef Hildenbrand

Data collected by Google was used to “create very detailed user profiles which the company can exploit for advertising and other purposes”, the Federal Cartel Authority said.

Based on a preliminary assessment, the watchdog determined that users were not given sufficient clarity on the “far-reaching processing of their data across services” by the tech company.

“General and indiscriminate data retention…  is not permissible” without giving users choice, the watchdog said.

The Federal Cartel Authority was therefore “currently planning to oblige the company to change the choices offered”, it said, adding that it expected to issue its final decision this year.

READ ALSO: Germany asks EU to rein in Twitter after ‘arbitrary’ bans by CEO Musk

“Google’s business model relies heavily on the processing of user data,” said the authority’s chief Andreas Mundt.

The digital giant had “access to relevant data gathered from a large number of different services” which meant it enjoyed “a strategic advantage over other companies”, Mundt said in a statement.

Google said in a statement it would continue its “constructive dialogue” with the Authority “in order to address their concerns”.

The warning comes after Google was classified as a company of “paramount significance across markets” in 2021.

The designation gives Germany’s regulators the option to intervene earlier against potentially uncompetitive practices by huge digital companies.

Wielding the new legislation, the watchdog has also opened probes into US tech giants such as Amazon and Facebook.

At the end of last year, the regulator shelved a separate investigation into Google’s News Showcase service, after the firm made “important adjustments” to ease competition concerns.

Big tech companies have been facing increasing scrutiny around the globe over their dominant positions as well as their tax practices.   

In July 2022, the European Parliament adopted the Digital Markets Act to curb the market dominance of Big Tech, with violators facing fines of up to 10 percent of their annual global sales.

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BUSINESS

Germany’s Playmobil wants to reinvent itself with Swift doll as it turns 50

As Playmobil turns 50, the German company behind the popular plastic figures is hoping that pop megastar Taylor Swift can help it shake off a slump in fortunes.

Germany's Playmobil wants to reinvent itself with Swift doll as it turns 50

Playmobil has in recent years lost ground to rivals, in particular Lego, the world’s number one toymaker whose sales are 10 times greater than those of its German competitor.

The Danish company has been way ahead in the licensing business, boasting Star Wars, Harry Potter and a more recent addition — Barbie — in its portfolio.

READ ALSO: It’s fantastic: Movie boosts world’s top Barbie collection in Düsseldorf

Over at Playmobil, the picture is distinctly less glamourous. Its greatest ever success is a 7.5 cm figure of German Protestant firebrand Martin Luther, 1.3 million of which have been sold.

Things are about to change, Playmobil hopes. Boss Bahri Kurter said contacts have been made with people close to Swift — one of pop music’s most dominant forces — and creative work has started.

“We will see how that develops,” he told AFP, adding that a figure of the US star “would be a huge dream”.

Kurter admitted that Playmobil “started late” in the licensing business.

Turbulent times

But this is far from the only reason the maker of plastic figures — whose headquarters are in Zirndorf, rural Bavaria — has been through a period of turbulence.

Rising energy prices and inflation exacted a heavy toll, as well as lingering supply chain woes in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

A cost-cutting drive is underway, with about 700 jobs worldwide — almost 20 percent of the workforce — to be axed. Half of the jobs to go are in Germany, as sales fall.

READ ALSO: Crisis-struck maker of Playmobil toys cuts hundreds of jobs

Playmobil’s parent company, the Geobra Brandstaetter Group, had to scramble to reorganise after the death of its founder, Horst Brandstaetter, in 2015. The changes caused tensions with unions, who accused the new management of “trampling” the group’s heritage.

Against this challenging backdrop, Kurter took charge of Playmobil in April last year.

The company traces its roots back to 1908, and in its early years manufactured products like toy telephones and money boxes.

The 1973 energy crisis hit the company hard as the price of oil, and plastic, soared.

Designer Hans Beck was ordered to come up with a new product that used less pricey plastic, and the result was Playmobil.

Crisis-struck German maker of Playmobil toys cut jobs (Photo by JOEL SAGET / AFP)

Three models were initially launched — a Native American, a knight and a worker — and proved a hit.

Numerous new characters and accessories have since been introduced, although the company traditionally sought to keep the toys simple, giving youngsters the chance to use their imaginations.

In half a century, more than 3.9 billion figures have been sold worldwide although they are less common in children’s bedrooms than they used to be.

‘Enormous competition’

“The toy market is subject to enormous competition,” particularly nowadays from games on computers or tablets, said Harald Lange, a specialist in educational games at the University of Wuerzburg.

The impact is clear at Playmobil, which has lost a third of its sales among four- to eight-year-olds in the past eight years, according to Kurter.

As well as tie-ups with popular figures like Swift, the company is targeting nostalgic adults and so-called “kidults” — grown-ups who still enjoy playing with toys.

Playmobil is increasing its range of celebrities, and sportsmen and -women to appeal to an older generation.

One such fan is Peter Bischofer, a 57-year-old who became an avid Playmobil collector in his 40s.

Playmobil brings back “childhood memories”, and evokes an era when toys “weren’t as elaborate”, he told AFP.

At his home in Merching, in southern Bavaria, he has collected hundreds of Playmobil models, with a preference for vintage ones. Playmobil prides itself on manufacturing its products in Europe — Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic and Malta.

It is also seeking to burnish its sustainability credentials at a time companies face mounting pressure to show they are green.

“The toddler range is moving to 90 percent plant-based raw materials,” said Kurter. “That’s a start.”

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