Google roundup: Facing new UK regulation, may build phones in Vietnam
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Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is facing new pressure in the UK to block "state-linked disinformation" thanks to a broad new online safety law.
Companies that run platforms where people can post content will be bound to curtail posts aimed at "interfering with the UK" that are backed by foreign governments, or face fines of up to 10% of global sales.
âWe need the big online platforms to do more to identify and disrupt this sort of coordinated inauthentic behavior," says Security Minister Damian Hinds.
Meanwhile, the company is considering shifting manufacturing orders for its future smartphones into Vietnam, after most of its Pixel 6 phones have been made in China, DigiTimes reports.
That would avoid not only COVID-19 lockdowns in China but also ongoing trade tensions between China and the United States.
Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) had originally considered making the Pixel 6 in Vietnam but elected to keep production in China due to the pandemic and some strong supply-chain support. But it's reconsidered due to China's ongoing lockdowns, according to the report based on upstream supplier sources.
Elsewhere, Monness, Crespi, Hardt cut its price target on GOOGL to $2,900 from $3,500, while maintaining its Buy rating; that implies 35% upside from a lower price Tuesday. Alphabet shares are lower Tuesday - (GOOG) -1.1%; (GOOGL) -1.2% - amid a broader-market decline and after Barclays became the latest firm to predict a digital advertising "step-down."