competition
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European Commission charges Amazon over misuse of seller data
Amazon is charged with identifying what third-party products are selling well, and then building copycat products to get in on the action.
Google will likely win EU approval for its $2.1 billion Fitbit deal
Google is reportedly on track to win EU antitrust approval for its $2.1 billion acquisition of Fitbit.
Epic, Spotify and others ally against Apple and Google app policies
A diverse variety of companies including Epic Games, Spotify, Match Group, Tile and others have formed an alliance to pressure Apple, Google and others to change their app store rules. The Coalition for App Fairness debuted today stating that “Apple taxes consumers and crushes innovation,” and that it will advocate “freedom of choice and fair competition across the app ecosystem.” The group plans to push for new regulations governing how app stores can be run.
Italy is investigating Apple, Google and Dropbox cloud storage services
Italy launches six investigations into Apple, Google and Dropbox cloud storage services.
Facebook tries to block EU access to ‘highly sensitive’ employee data
Facebook has temporarily blocked the European Commission from accessing data that it believes would include “irrelevant documents” and “highly sensitive personal information” about its employees. The EU’s executive branch had requested the information to support a preliminary probe into whether the social media giant was engaging in anticompetitive practices. Tim Lamb, Facebook’s Director and Associate General Counsel for Competition, said the company was “cooperating” with the investigation and understood it would need to hand over hundreds of thousands of documents.
Australian government sues Google for misleading consumers in data collection
The Australian government has filed its second lawsuit against Google in less than a year over privacy concerns, this time alleging the tech giant misled Australian consumers in an attempt to gather information for targeted ads. The Australian Competition and Consumers Commission (ACCC), the country’s consumer watchdog, says Google didn’t obtain explicit consent from consumers to collect personal data, according to a statement. The ACCC cites a 2016 change to Google’s policy in which the company began collecting data about Google account holders’ activity on non-Google sites.
Italy is launching an antitrust investigation into Amazon and Apple
Italian officials want to know whether Amazon and Apple reached an antitrust agreement.
Designers help a rover navigate the crushing furnace of Venus
Venus is closer to Earth than Mars, but because it’s hellhole that’s unforgiving to rovers, we still don’t know much about its surface. NASA and JPL recently launched a heroX design contest for mechanical sensors that would help its AREE (automaton rover for extreme environments) rover detect and avoid rough terrain. It recently picked the winner, and said it received such an “incredible” response from the community that it added two finalists and 10 honorable mention entries.
UK's competition regulator demands tougher action on Google and Facebook
These sorts of powers would affect Facebook and Google's businesses internationally.
NASA wants your help designing future moon toilets
NASA needs help designing the next astronaut toilet.
Apple Pay and the App Store are under EU antitrust investigation
The European Commission has launched two separate antitrust investigations into Apple, focused on the App Store and Apple Pay. The Commission said it had completed a “preliminary investigation” and found “concerns” that discouraged competition against Apple’s own services.
Jeff Bezos is willing to testify about Amazon's use of seller data
Amazon has said Jeff Bezos is willing to take part in the House Judiciary Committee's upcoming antitrust hearing on big tech.
House wants four 'big tech' CEOs to testify in competition probe
House competition investigators have reportedly asked the CEOs of Apple, Amazon, Alphabet and Facebook to testify in July.
Tile files EU complaint against Apple's alleged anticompetitive behavior
In a letter to the EU, Tile claims Apple is making it more difficult for competitors to survive.
Amazon allegedly used sellers' data to make competing products
Amazon has been accused of using third-party sellers' proprietary data to build rival products.
France orders Google to pay news companies for showing article extracts
France’s competition authority has ordered Google to negotiate payments with publishers and news agencies to display extracts on its news, search and discovery pages. The interim ruling comes after France implemented the EU’s “Copyright Directive” law that forced Google to pay publishers to use snippets of articles in searches.
Apple hit with record-breaking $1.2 billion antitrust fine in France
Apple has been hit with a record-breaking fine for antitrust practices. French competition authority Autorité de la Concurrence has found Apple and its wholesale distribution partners Ingram Micro and Tech Data guilty of running a cartel for Apple products, and has fined the companies €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion), €62.9 million ($70.2 million) and €76.1 million ($85 million) respectively.
Microsoft made a Nike Air Max 90 Xbox but you can't buy it
The Super Bowl is right around the corner, so here come all the brand collabs. To celebrate Sunday's showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, Xbox, EA Sports and Nike have joined forces to create a limited-edition custom Xbox One console. Inspired by the special edition Nike x Madden NFL 20 Air Max 90 sneakers unveiled yesterday, the all-white console features red and blue details representing the EA Sports logo and NFL Shield, as well as the iconic Nike swoosh.
Uber is leaving Colombia after court ruling
Uber has once again been kicked out of an entire country. The ridesharing firm is shutting down operations in Colombia on February 1st after a December court ruling that it violated transportation laws. It intends to appeal the ruling, which it called "arbitrary" and a violation of a free trade deal that protects American companies' subsidiaries. For now, though, this will leave about 88,000 drivers (and 2 million customers) resorting to alternatives.
UK regulator opens probe into Amazon's Deliveroo stake
Amazon may be in hot water with the UK's Competition & Markets Authority (CMA). Earlier this year, the watchdog expressed concerns that Amazon's acquisition of a minority stake in Deliveroo, a UK food delivery company, could hurt competition. Now, CMA says Amazon has failed to address those initial concerns, and it has referred the deal for an in-depth investigation.