antitrust - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• Qualcomm hit with two EU antitrust probes

  Qualcomm is under investigation by the European Union's antitrust authority, which suspects the company of abusing its dominant position in the market for 3G and 4G chipsets used in smartphones and tablets.

• Google asks for, and gets, extra time to respond to European antitrust charges

  Google has managed to push the resolution of the antitrust case brought against it by the European Commission until after the long summer vacation.

• Google harms consumers by favoring its own services, study finds

  Google's favoring of its own services in search results doesn't just harm competitors, it also harms consumers, according to research sponsored by a complainant in the EU antitrust trial against the company.

• Getty Images a party in European antitrust investigation into Google

  Getty Images said it had been granted "interested party" status in the European Commission's investigation into alleged anticompetitive behavior by Google, after it complained to the Commission that the search giant favored its own images service in Web search results.

• Google's foes have four weeks to comment on EU antitrust charges

  The European Commission is almost ready to file final antitrust charges against Google: It has shared a redacted copy of charges with complainants and given them four weeks to provide additional evidence and comments.

• Amazon's e-book distribution contracts could be illegal, says EU

  Amazon.com's e-book distribution deals are coming under close scrutiny from the European Commission, which has begun a formal antitrust investigation into the company's contracts with publishers.

• Apple Music faces antitrust investigation in New York, Connecticut

  Attorneys general of the U.S. states of New York and Connecticut have launched an investigation into the music streaming industry, apparently with a focus on whether the recently-unveiled Apple Music has broken antitrust rules.

• Disconnect files EU antitrust complaint against Google after app ban

  Disconnect.me, maker of an Android privacy app banned from the Play store, has filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commssion accusing Google of abusing its dominant market position.

• Oracle faces antitrust probe in South Korea

  In the past, South Korea's antitrust body has trained its sights on the likes of Google and Qualcomm. Now, Oracle is the latest to draw the agency's ire, resulting in an investigation of the database giant for potentially anticompetitive behavior.

• Booking.com will no longer require European hotels to offer it better room prices

  Europe's largest hotel reservation site Booking.com has settled antitrust cases against it in Sweden, Italy and France over contractual clauses it used to oblige hotels to offer it the same room prices as competitors, or better.

• French Senate wants Google to promote its search competitors

  French senators have amended a stodgy economics bill with a rider that would require Google to advertise three competitors on its home page, but stops short of explicitly requiring the search engine to disclose its algorithms.

• Six net neutrality lawsuits: What are the complaints about?

  One of the main arguments for the trade groups and ISPs that have filed six -- yes, six -- lawsuits against the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules is that the agency violated a 69-year-old administrative procedure law in crafting the new regulations.

• Proving Google's abuse could be difficult for the EU

  The European Commission might have a hard time proving that Google abused its supposed dominant market power in the European search market.

• EU files antitrust charges against Google over search services

  The European Commission has charged Google with abusing its dominant position in Internet search services in Europe by systematically favoring its own comparison shopping product, Google Shopping. It also opened an antitrust investigation into Google's Android mobile operating system.

• Google confirms European antitrust action, says it has "a very strong case"

  Google said European antitrust regulators will issue Wednesday a 'statement of objections' on its display and ranking of certain search results, particularly of shopping, but said it had "a very strong case."