[ad_1] Late Friday, the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post reported, based on it anonymous sources, that the Department of Justice is preparing an antitrust probe of Google. The company has faced several similar inquiries from EU officials with billions in fines as a result, and in one case it caused Google to separate Chrome […]
Category: antitrust
Facebook says it needs more regulation, not a breakup
[ad_1] Clegg contended that Facebook was really a large firm made of “many smaller pieces,” each competing against multiple rivals, and wasn’t dominant in some markets. It had ‘just’ 20 percent of the US online ad space, for instance. The ex-politician also maintained that antitrust law was meant to protect customers by ensuring low prices […]
EU set to investigate Apple over Spotify’s competition claims
[ad_1] Both tech companies have declined to comment on the report. Apple, however, has already rejected Spotify’s assertions. It argued that Spotify was really driven by “financial motivations” and wanted to benefit from the App Store’s infrastructure without contributing to it. The firm also rejected notions that it was privileging Apple Music on a software […]
Apple accused of clamping down on apps competing with Screen Time
[ad_1] Some of those apps had more advanced features, such as support for managing Android devices and blocking websites in browsers besides Safari. The Times also understood that developers received only brief notes demanding changes, with no reasoning or detail to help them modify their apps or explain why their apps were at risk of […]
EU charges Valve and five publishers with geo-blocking games
[ad_1] The problem centers around activation keys. When users buy physical games, they often get activation keys, which they must enter to add the games to their Steam libraries. The Commission says Valve and the five publishers agreed to use geo-blocking so that activation keys sold in some countries — like Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary […]
EU believes BMW, Daimler and VW colluded over clean emissions tech
[ad_1] In particular, the Commission believes BMW, Daimler and VW coordinated their AdBlue dosing strategies and delayed the use of Otto Particle Filters. AdBlue is a urea product that’s meant to reduce harmful nitrogen oxide emissions from diesel passenger cars. The Commission believes the three manufacturers limited AdBlue-consumption between 2006 and 2014, essentially leading to […]
Oscars limits for streaming movies may violate antitrust law
[ad_1] An Academy spokesperson confirmed to Variety that it had received the DOJ notice and had “responded accordingly,” although it didn’t specify what its answer was. Its Board of Governors will hold their yearly rule meeting on April 23rd. Studios have sometimes accused online services of ‘cheating’ the Oscars system with short theatrical release windows, […]
House committee chair calls for FTC antitrust investigation into Facebook
[ad_1] Cicilline also argued that the FTC wasn’t doing its job. Advocates warned “for years” that Facebook was likely violating the FTC’s 2011 privacy consent order, but the commission allegedly didn’t enforce that order. It didn’t block acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp that helped Facebook “extend its dominance,” Cicilline added. He further argued that Facebook […]