Tag Archives: fine

Back in April 2019, we learned that the European Commission was launching an anti-trust investigation into content geo-blocking. The investigation looked into several huge game publishers including Valve, ZeniMax, Capcom, Bandai Namco, Focus Home Interactive and Koch Media. Ultimately, the EU fined the companies for geo-blocking practices in 2021. Valve …

Apple is regularly in the news due to repeated antitrust violations. This time around, the company has been accused anti-competitive behaviour in Italy, with authorities also claiming collusion between Apple and Amazon to supress competition. As a result, both parties have been ordered to pay a $225 million fine. Italy's …

After cracking down on PC-based digital platform holders, Australia's Competition and Consumer Commission began turning its attention to the refund policies for digital games sold on consoles. Sony has been one of the targets this week, with an Australian Federal Court ordering a fine to be paid due to PlayStation …

Google has been battling with the EU for a few years now over various anti-trust concerns. At the moment, Google faces a hefty $2.6 billion (2.4 billion Euro) fine, which the company is still fighting.  The fine was initially imposed back in 2017 and this week during a three-day hearing, Alphabet …

It’s not uncommon to see distributors of piracy-enabled hardware end up the court room, but the operators of copyright infringing websites rarely face the consequences. Spanish anti-piracy efforts are hoping to change that, as entertainment groups are seeking jail sentences and half a billion dollars in damages against four alleged …

The European Commission hit Google with a record $5 billion fine last year, stating that its Android OS was anti-competitive with its pre-packed Chrome browser. In an effort to combat these claims, Google will now make more of an effort to ensure European users know that there are other options …

Back in late 2017, Uber came under fire for its security practises after a huge data leak was made public. One hacker had managed to obtain the details of millions of Uber drivers and passengers. Rather than take steps to fix the issue and warn customers, a former Uber executive …

Following a maximum £500,000 fine issued by the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in July, Facebook began reviewing ways to contest the punishment. It seems the appeal is finally under way, with the social network labelling the effort as “unjustified.” ICO’s reasoning for pushing its top fine was due to …

Back in January, we learned that Italy's antitrust watchdog had begun investigating both Apple and Samsung over software updates. Complaints of ‘planned obsolescence' appear to have carried a bit of weight, as the Italian anti-trust team has passed down fines to both companies. The theories behind planned obsolescence reached a …

Earlier this year, the European Commission planted a record breaking $5 billion fine on Google over antitrust charges. The EU took issue with Google's use of pre-installed apps and services on Android smartphones, which stops consumers from seeking out alternatives and thus prevents competitors from rising up. Google is appealing …

Over the weekend, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fined Tesla CEO Elon Musk $40 million split between both himself and the company, based on allegations of fraud causing significant disruption in the stock market. Both have agreed to settle these terms without confirming or denying the allegations, leaving …

Last year, Uber was heavily scrutinised over its security practises after a data leak was made public. A hacker had managed to obtain the details of millions of Uber users worldwide, including drivers and customers. The hack, which took place in 2016, was kept under wraps for 13 months and …

Valve has been no stranger to governments taking issue with the Steam refund policy. The situation in Australia may have wrapped up but now authorities in France want to take a crack at Valve's legal team. Over in France, both Valve and Ubisoft have been fined for breaching consumer laws. …

Back in early 2017, the European Commission began investigating several hardware companies for price fixing, including ASUS, Philips, Pioneer and Denon & Marantz. Now that investigation has come to a close, with €111 million in fines being handed down. The European Commission announced today that it has issued fines in …

The European Commission has finally decided the fate of Google following complaints of anti-competitive behaviour surrounding its Android platform. Google has been ordered to pay a record-breaking €4.34bn (£3.8bn/$5bn) fine, which the company states is unjustified given that “Android has created more choice for everyone, not less.” European competition commissioner …

Qualcomm has been fighting various antitrust charges over the last couple of years. At first, the company was fined $975 million in China, then in 2016 regulators in South Korea fined the company over $850 million. The European Union has ruled against Qualcomm in an antitrust case and now, the …

Over the last few years, Intel has had a massive €1.06 billion fine looming over its head after the European Commission ruled that the company had violated antitrust laws. At the time, Intel was offering rebates to OEMs to retain the upper-hand over AMD in the market. Intel has been …

Over the last several years, Google has been battling it out with the European Commission in court over various antitrust allegations. One of the first antitrust cases to be levied at Google surrounded the company's ‘Shopping' search engine, with the EU claiming Google skews results and causes harm to competitors. …

This week, the European Commission is fining Facebook £94.1 million, after concluding that the company gave ‘misleading' information during an investigation into its acquisition of WhatsApp in 2014. The EC initially began vetting the acquisition deal between Facebook and WhatsApp on anti-competitive grounds. During the Commission's investigation, Facebook made filings …

A host in New York who rented her studio flat out to visitors via popular homestay network, AirBnB, has been fined for breaching city and state law. Although her lease might have permitted guests for up to 30 days, renting it out is another thing entirely. This move could be the first …

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 …

Toshiba is facing a huge fine of 7.37 billion Yen/£39 million/$60 million, following a huge accounting scandal that took place over seven years and saw the company overstating its profits by huge amounts. So far, the current fine is just the suggested figure from the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission, …

The Federal Communication Commission has stated its intention to crack down on companies blocking Wi-Fi hotspots created by its customers, with fines being levied against two hotel and convention centre owners for doing so. It's claimed that the blocks were designed to encourage the purchasing of expensive Wi-Fi time sold …

Apple could face a hefty fine, after a US jury ruled that Apple used technology patented by the University of Wisconsin within some of its A-series chips found in the iPhone and iPads. Specifically, the A7, A8 and A8x processors, found in the iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, …

The Pokemon Company International is demanding $4000 from a fan of the series after he organized a Pokemon themed party to celebrate the kick off of PAX earlier this year. Ramar Larkin Jones organized the unofficial Pokemon PAX party this year but had to cancel it at the last minute …

Getting a PC to work properly can be stressful at times and troubleshooting can be hard work, so when turning it off and on again simply won't cut it, what option do you really have left other than emptying a clip of ammo in to your desktop? 37-year-old Lucas Hinch …

A federal court judge in Washington has gone ahead and rejected a $30,000 damages award against internet subscribers accused of downloading a pirated movie through a torrent client. The judge, Thomas Rice, expressed doubts that the filmmakers were really hurt that much and branded the $30,000 request as “excessive punishment”. …

Google has been hit by a near million euro fine for breaching Spanish privacy laws by combining different information on users from its multiple services without letting consumers in on it, and not giving them access to the data that's held on them. This is all about a move in …

An Ex- Admin of the now defunct bittorrent site, ‘Swebits', has been fined $652,000 for uploading one pre-release movie a few years ago. Along with the crippling fine, he will have to serve 160 hours of community service and has a suspended Jail sentence hanging over his head for helping …

Google has submitted a new proposal to the European Commission, offering further concessions in an effort to avoid the biggest fine the EUC has ever threatened to give out: $5 billion. In it, Google offers to make it easier for advertisers to switch between search engines and for consumers to …