Tag Archives: Anti-Trust

We're over six months on from Microsoft announcing plans to acquire Activision Blizzard, kicking off the lengthy process of gaining approvals from anti-trust organisations across the world. Most of the time, these investigations are highly secretive, but we do know that they involve seeking opinions from competing companies across the industry. Now thanks to recent filings in Brazil, documents containing these opinions have been posted online, giving us insight into what the likes of Sony, Ubisoft, WB and others think of the deal. 

Google once again came under fire from the European Commission last month for antitrust practices, this time for its alleged blocking access to its Play Store unless Android devices pre-install Google Chrome and Google Search. European Union competition chief Margrethe Vestager could impose a multibillion dollar fine against the company, …

It's probably no surprise to most of you, but Amazon isn't always seen as the most morally upright of companies. It might have helped its founder Jeff Bezos become the third richest man in the world, but not everyone thinks it did so cleanly. In Japan, the Amazon offices have …

South Korea's Fair Trade Commission has announced that it is investigating Apple over what it describes as “some matters,” though it didn't detail them. Presumably this will be another investigation over its anti-competitive practices, though how far it will be taken is anyone's guess at this point. Announced at a parliamentary …

The European Commission currently has several anti-trust cases out against Google, one of which focuses on the company's monopoly on Search Engines. Some companies have accused Google of favouring its own services in search results and while Google has made its defence, reports this week are saying that the EU …

Getty Images, a well-known US-based photography agency has accused Google of promoting photo piracy and undermining its business. This will lead to yet another formal antitrust complaint being filed against the company with the European Commission, which already has two antitrust cases out against Google at the moment regarding Android …

Google is going to be fighting anti-trust legal battles on both sides of the Atlantic, as the FTC and US Justice Department have launched an official investigation in to Google's business practises with Android, similar to the one European Commission conducted over the last year. US regulators have apparently decided …

Earlier this year, after months of investigation, the European Commission formally accused Google of anti-trust practises, forcing the company to respond and give evidence that its business tactics aren't secretly squeezing out the competition. As you would expect, Google is arguing that the EU's allegations are “incorrect”. The European Commission's …

Breaking America is difficult, whether you're a pop star or a giant telecoms company, apparently. UK based BT has called on U.S. regulators to change the current laws on the sale of network usage, making it possible for different companies to access each other's network at a regulated price. As …

Earlier this year, ahead of Apple Music's initial announcement, the European Commission launched an investigation in to Apple's business practises leading up to the streaming service's launch. At the time, the EU suspected that Apple may be resorting to anti-competitive tactics in order to get an edge over competing companies. …

The EU Commission has opened up some questionable anti-trust cases in recent times but it looks like it has finally launched one that we can all get on board with. The EU has launched an anti-trust investigation against several US movie studios and even Sky UK in an effort to …

Ahead of Apple's official announcement for its new music streaming service, it was reported that the company was already at work trying to pressure labels in to withdrawing support for Spotify and its advert based business model. As a result, the European Commission and the FTC both began probing the …

The European Commission has gone ahead with yet another anti-trust investigation. This time, its sights are set on Amazon due to its e-book deals and contracts with book publishers. The investigation was formally launched this week with the aim of ensuring that Amazon's publisher contracts don't “make it more difficult …

Apple Music is barely off of the ground and already it's under investigation by the attorney generals of two separate US states, for potential anti-trust practices. Both New York and Connecticut are looking into Apple's affairs, to see if it offered incentives or threatened music labels into supporting its new …

Google is facing more anti-trust complaints regarding Android. The European Commission is already investigating Google over its mobile operating system due to concerns that it promotes its own apps over its competitors and now, complaints have arisen suggesting that Google is abusing its dominance in the market. This particular complaint …

You have probably heard by now that the European Commission really has it out for Google and recently escalated its case against the company, which could result in a massive fine. However, it looks like at least eBay has Google's back, as CEO, John Donahoe has debunked the EU's monopoly …

Google has officially responded to the European Commission's accusations that the company is hurting online competition and engaging in anti-trust business practices by promoting its own products or services. Just yesterday, the EU Commission escalated its long running anti-trust case against Google, so the company now has to either prove …

In order to not fall afoul of European regulators, Google is merging its Northern and Western European divisions, with the one currently covering the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa according to some internal sources. This comes after several months of the search giant being investigated for claims …

Google is facing another anti-trust investigation, this time in Russia over its Android Operating System. The complaint was filed by Yandex, a Russian competitor to Google, which controls over half of the search traffic in the country. Google's popularity with Android has given it a strong position against Yandex, taking …

Mobile chip maker, Qualcomm, is set to pay $975 million out to Chinese officials in order to end a 14 month-long anti-trust investigation into the company's patent licensing practices. The fine is actually the largest in China's corporate history. The firm will also have to lower royalty fees on patents …

An eight person jury has let Apple off the hook in the iPod DRM class action lawsuit trial. The lawsuit aimed to force Apple to compensate those who bought specific iPods between 2006 and March 2009 after it was found that Apple was anti-competitively blocking and removing songs that were paid …

Intel will be forced to pay a €1.06 billion fine after losing its appeal in a European anti-trust lawsuit. The fine is actually the largest European authorities have forced any single company to pay but it has been a long road getting to this point as the lawsuit was originally filed …

Google has been the top dog when it comes to mapping software for quite a while now, which is why the Federal trade commission is looking to investigate the search giant after it bought up Israeli startup, Waze, the popular smartphone app that used inputs from users to offer live …

You might not have heard of Lauren Villagran, graduate of Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism with a background that includes Associated Press and CBS, but she's the lady that's helped pen one of the most explosive business stories of recent times: The decision by Hector Ruiz to stand up …

Google has been under the investigative eye of the European Commission for the past couple of years, where it has been threatened with anti-trust action, after claims that Google was using its search engine dominance to push its other products on consumers. Now though, Google has submitted a proposal that …