anti-trust
Latest
The FTC is set to review Microsoft's $68.7 billion Activision takeover
Microsoft was most likely ready for rigorous antri-trust scrutiny around the world when it decided to purchase Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion.
Poland is investigating Apple's cross-app tracking policy over antitrust concerns
Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has opened an investigation into Apple’s App Tracking Transparency feature.
Senators criticize Apple's refusal to testify in hearing on app store rules (updated)
Apple appears unwilling to take part in an upcoming hearing the Senate plans to hold on anti-competitive app store practices.
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.
EU opens Amazon probe to see if it used merchant data to gain an advantage
On the same day that Amazon announced plans to overhaul its business terms for its third-party sellers, the European Commission (EC) has opened a formal antitrust investigation into the retailer, designed to assess whether its use of sensitive merchant data is in breach of EU competition rules.
Amazon will change its rules for third-party sellers following backlash
Amazon doesn't have a shining reputation when it comes to the way it handles its third-party sellers. Merchants have reported restrictions on where they can sell, being kicked off the site for no obvious reasons and issues with counterfeiting. But Germany has forced Amazon to change its attitude, and the retailer will now be overhauling its terms of service for third-party sellers worldwide.
Apple looks to have anti-trust monitor replaced for 'inappropriate declaration'
Anti-trust cases are ugly affairs, but Apple's ongoing struggles with Michael Bromwich -- its court-appointed anti-trust monitor in the ongoing e-books controversy -- has lead the company to ask he be replaced. As we reported last month, the issues stem from what Apple sees as Bromwich's excessive billing and overstepping of the boundaries of his mandate. In response to the complaint filed by Apple last month, Bromwich filed his own declaration, defending his work against the company's charges. According to Reuters on Tuesday Apple Inc's lawyer asked US District Judge Denise Cote of Manhattan to replace Bromwich as their external compliance monitor, citing what they see as a personal bias against Apple. Their lawyer cites the same issues that popped up in December, including the monitor's US$1,100-an-hour pay rate and aggressive requests to interview executives who had nothing to do with the anti-trust case. Apple was forced by the court to work with an anti-trust monitor following the July 2013 ruling that the company was guilty of price-fixing in the e-books marketplace.
Zynga files counterclaim against EA, EA calls it 'predictable subterfuge'
Zynga has officially responded to EA's recent lawsuit over its claims of a "clear violation" of copyright regarding The Ville. General Counsel for Zynga Reggie Davis issued the following statement:"Today we responded to EA's claims which we believe have no merit. We also filed a counterclaim which addresses actions by EA we believe to be anticompetitive and unlawful business practices, including legal threats and demands for no-hire agreements. We look forward to getting back to focusing all our efforts on delighting our players."Reached for comment, EA spokesman John Reseburg told Joystiq, "This is a predictable subterfuge aimed at diverting attention from Zynga's persistent plagiarism of other artists and studios. Zynga would be better served trying to hold onto the shrinking number of employees they've got, rather than suing to acquire more."
Court upholds EU antitrust decision against Microsoft, reduces fine slightly to $1.07 billion
Europe's second-highest court has finally denied Microsoft's 2008 appeal of its 899 million euro ($1.35 billion) EU antitrust fine, while reducing the award to 860 million euros ($1.07 billion). If you can't remember that far back, Redmond was hit with the penalty for delaying information about its operating system to rival companies, impeding their progress in competing with the software giant. It's not known if a further appeal is possible, but we suspect that the company won't give up if it's got any options -- it's not exactly pocket change we're talking about.
South Korea's FTC reportedly raids Google again over lack of cooperation
Google might be in trouble for how it handled an earlier raid by South Korean officials over antitrust concerns. Insiders claimed to AllThingsD that the country's Fair Trade Commission stormed Google's Seoul offices again on May 28th after the company allegedly stonewalled the investigation in suspicious ways. Among the accusations, Google supposedly deleted files and asked staff to work from home rather than face inquiries. The FTC's goal was still to answer complaints from local search firms Daum and NHN that Google was unfairly making it difficult to use a non-Google search engine in Android. Google still says it's cooperating with regulators, but the assertions if they're accurate would paint a different picture. They certainly don't alleviate pressure in the US over similar subjects.
Italian anti-trust body fines Apple for misleading customers on product guarantees
Apple Italia has been fined a total of 900,000 euros for failing to inform its customers that products purchased were already covered by two years of free assistance under national law. It appears that Apple employees encouraged the extra purchase of its own AppleCare plans. With the European court's continued investigation of possible e-book price-fixing and ongoing legal jousting with Samsung unlikely to end any time soon, it looks like Apple will be busy in the courts next year too. [Thanks Giulio]
Microsoft gets antitrust okay for Skype purchase, readies shockingly large wire transfer
Look out, world -- Microsoft just crossed another hurdle in its bid to swallow Skype whole. Earlier today, US antitrust approval was given on Microsoft's largest (proposed) acquisition, clearing the path for all sorts of Windows / Xbox / WP7-related VoIP shenanigans. While many are still questioning the logic here, Skype continually brought around 145 million users to the table per month even while it constantly bled money. Whatever the case, it looks as if the accountants in Redmond just got US DoJ permission to move $8.5b from one column to the next, and with an initial investment like that, we're hoping for a number of updated features as the attack plan unfolds.
Google to face formal EU antitrust investigation over unfair downranking of search competitors
Way back in February, the European Union announced its intention to look into allegations made against Google that the search leader wasn't ranking its competitors fairly in the results it delivered. Well, that fact-finding mission seems to have unearthed at least some hint of impropriety on Google's part, as it's now shed the "preliminary" label and has become a full-on antitrust probe. The original complaints came from EJustice.fr, Foundem.co.uk, and Microsoft's price comparison service Ciao, and they're still the basis of the investigation, though secondary issues, such as Google's conditions for advertisers and the way it tracks ad campaign data, will also be looked at. Let's not forget, however, that we're still dealing with allegations here, and it's going to be quite tricky to show any misdoing without delving into Google's famed algorithms and internal practices -- then again, maybe that's exactly what Mountain View's competitors are after. Update: Google has responded to the news on its Public Policy Blog.
European Union closes Apple investigation
I think we can call this one "saved by a policy change." Earlier this month, Apple changed its rules and is now allowing developers to use third-party tools for creating apps for iOS devices. In a statement released this weekend, the EU said it welcomed Apple's changed policies, and that the investigation would be closed. Apple also loosened policies on cross-border warranty repair of computers and iOS products. Previously, people who bought a product in one EU country and tried to have it fixed under warranty in another EU country encountered red tape or a refusal to fix the product, but apparently that issue's been fixed as well. This recent change is on top of Apple settling a case with the US Department of Justice that dealt with agreements between major tech firms about not poaching employees. The settlement involved other companies including Pixar, Google, and Intel. Apple is clearly getting a bit more liberal in the way it runs the business. There's nothing like a little competition and litigation to get things moving.
Dell settles with SEC for $100 million, moseys off into sunset
Looks like Dell might finally be at peace with the US Securities and Exchange Commission -- for now at least. The company has announced that it's reached a settlement for "alleged omissions prior to Fiscal 2008" regarding both its relation with Intel and some accounting this-and-that. In a nutshell, Dell was receiving payments from Intel (who had some nasty payouts of its own) to not use AMD chips, which the company didn't disclose to investors, and then failed to explain why profitability dropped once the payments stopped coming in. Remember that $100 million set aside in June for such a civil monetary penalty? Yep, this is exactly what it was for, and it's exactly what Dell is paying out. Additionally, CEO Michael Dell is paying $4 million out of pocket. Lesson learned, right guys?
Former US Labor Secretary on antitrust investigation: "Hands off Apple"
If you want a preview of how this nonsensical antitrust investigation against Apple is going to play out, look no farther than Robert Reich, US Secretary of Labor during the Clinton administration. Reich has written in defense of Apple regarding the possibly forthcoming antitrust investigations. He notes that the investigations are taking place because of Apple's disallowing of third-party programming tools like Flash CS5 when writing apps for the iPhone. "What's wrong with that?" Reich asks. "Apple says it's necessary to maintain quality. If consumers disagree they can buy platforms elsewhere." An expert in US labor law, who was once the secretary in charge of labor policy in the US, sees no problem with Apple's practices regarding development for its platform. Case closed, Adobe. Thanks for playing. Read on to find out why this investigation started in the first place.
Google claims that Microsoft is encouraging third party anti-trust lawsuits
Microsoft certainly knows a thing or two about anti-trust suits, and if the kids at Google are to be believed the company is waging something of a proxy war on them by injecting itself in lawsuits and complaints brought up by third parties. As Google spokesman Adam Kovacevich told The Wall Street Journal, "our competitors are scouring court dockets around the world looking for complaints against Google into which they can inject themselves, learn more about our business practices, and use that information to develop a broader antitrust complaint against us." Of course, Microsoft claims that this is mere bosh, saying that it's neither initiated nor is it funding anti-trust lawsuits from small companies like TradeComet.com or myTriggers.com -- the latter of whom is being represented by Charles "Rick" Rule, Microsoft's chief outside counsel on competition issues. Then again, if we remember correctly Ciao -- the European online shopping portal -- didn't have any problems with how Google did business until they were snatched up by Microsoft recently. Coincidence? Inevitable? Both? We can't say, but things are sure to get interesting.
EU launches preliminary antitrust probe against Google
Now that Microsoft's browser selection story is all but settled, it looks like the European Union is gearing up for a new antitrust probe, with its crosshairs aimed generally in Google's direction. According to the search giant's Senior Competition Counsel Julia Holtz (via its European Public Policy Blog), complaints from three European internet companies -- legal search group EJustice.fr, price comparison site Foundem.co.uk, and German-based Microsoft subsidiary Ciao.de -- have prompted the European Commission to launch a preliminary, fact-finding probe. The charges? Anticompetitive practices stemming from unfair downranking of its competitors in search results. Google denies any wrongdoing, while adding ,"we are also the first to admit that our search is not perfect, but it's a very hard computer science problem to crack." The Microsoft connection seems particularly notable to Google; Holtz reiterates that the company had a good relationship with Ciao until the Redmond company picked it up in 2008 -- "we started receiving complaints about our standard terms and conditions." Like we said, at this point it's just a fact-finding probe that could end up going nowhere, but seriously, Google's lawyers cannot seem to get a break these days.
Sony Optiarc garners unwanted attention from DOJ for possible Blu-ray or DVD price fixing
In a filing with the Tokyo Stock Exchange this morning, Sony has revealed a request for information from the US Department of Justice regarding its optical drive production arm, Sony Optiarc. While the same filing indicates the Japanese giant's belief that this information gathering is part of a wider investigation into competition in the optical drive market, we've yet to hear of any other companies facing the same request. If you were feeling disgruntled with the pace of Blu-ray price drops, this might just be your moment of vindication... or it could be a storm in a teacup. There's really not enough information to tell either way right now, but if we know anything about the DOJ, it's that it loves shaking down naughty corporations. We'll keep a careful eye on this as it develops.
Amazon, Microsoft and Yahoo unite against Google Books
Microsoft, its new pet dog Yahoo, and Amazon have decided to join together in the soon to be formed Open Book Alliance. You might expect this to be a revolutionary new collaborative effort at delivering the written word in a way that makes Google Books pale into insignificance, but you would, of course, be wrong. Far from trying to compete with Google, The OBA is set to act as the collective mouthpiece for all those opposed to Google's recent $125 million settlement deal with book publishers and authors. With the US Department of Justice already investigating antitrust concerns relating to the case, the other big dogs just couldn't restrain themselves from coming together for a united whinge. Should the settlement be cleared, it will permit Google non-exclusive rights to orphan works (those without an established writer) and will give it a 30 per cent cut of books sold via Google Books, both things that authors have agreed to. So what's there to moan about, fellas -- we all trust Google to do the right thing, right?
