The American Economic Liberties Project says Kroger's $1.65B deal for Giant Eagle could expand customer surveillance. The group urges the Ohio attorney general and the FTC to sue to block it.

"The Ohio attorney general and Federal Trade Commission should sue to block" the merger, the report says.
Tap a lens to see what this story means for you.
Liked this? The Brief brings you the whole day in tech, verified, every morning.
Two minutes, free forever. What's in The Brief →
See what’s happening right now
The Feed runs all day — short, verified briefs the moment they break.
Open the FeedFollow @thecircuitry_
Every story we publish, as it happens. No noise between.
Reader-supported
The Circuitry is a passion project I've always wanted to build, and I love the work behind it.
Running it costs real money. APIs, hosting, time. To keep improving the site and growing this into something useful for everyone, those costs have to be covered.
Any contribution is appreciated. If not, no pressure. Thanks for reading.
A New Mexico court has ordered Meta to pay a $25 billion penalty after a jury found more than 43 million violations of the state's unfair practices act in a data privacy case tied to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The judge reduced a $219.5 billion statutory maximum to $25 billion, plus 15% annual interest. Meta's chief legal officer, C.J. Mahoney, said the company is confident it will prevail on appeal.
9to5Mac: Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman stated that Apple will deploy large quantities of iPhone Duo demo units at major stores, including over 150 at the Fifth Avenue location in New York, to support hands-on access ahead of the October 23 launch.
Flock Safety plans to cut about 270 jobs, or 18% of staff, after a voluntary buyout program, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the plans. Flock told The Hill the program was voluntary and not a layoff. The license-plate camera maker faces growing privacy pushback.
A federal judge issued a 14-day restraining order halting the $110 billion Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery merger after a dozen states argued it would violate antitrust laws. The pause prevents immediate irreversible actions and sets an August 3 hearing on a preliminary injunction while exposing Paramount to millions in daily penalties if the deal misses its September 30 deadline.
South Korea's PIPC issued Coupang a record 624.6 billion won ($409 million) fine after a breach exposed personal data of over 37 million customers due to security failures and other violations. The penalty, paired with a company compensation plan exceeding $1.17 billion, highlights escalating regulatory pressure on major tech platforms handling consumer data.