GOOGLE ANTITRUST
EU break-up order to Google unlikely for now
European Union regulators are due to issue a decision in the coming months after antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager last year threatened to break up Google's lucrative adtech business.
Ex-Google executive said goal was to 'crush' competition, trial evidence shows
The statements underscored the US Department of Justice's claim that Google has sought to monopolize markets for publisher ad servers and advertiser ad networks, and tried to dominate the market for ad exchanges which sit in the middle.
Big hit for big tech: Apple, Google suffer multibillion-$ blows in EU
EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager achieved significant victories as Europe's top court upheld her actions against Apple's Irish tax deal and Google's anti-competitive practices. The rulings, which are final, support the European Commission's decisions and could influence future antitrust efforts. Apple and Google expressed disappointment with the judgments.
EU's Vestager triumphs in crackdown on Apple's tax deal, Google's practices
Vestager, who ends her term in November, has made a name for herself going after Big Tech's tax arrangements with some EU countries and attempts to stifle smaller rivals. The court victories could embolden her successor to take a similar tack.
EU court upholds $2.7 billion antitrust fine on Google
The fine is one of three penalties levied by the European Commission against Google in the past decade for various antitrust infringements that have cost the company 8.25 billion euros in total.
Google's legal scorecard as another antitrust fight arrives
Google's luck in US courts ran out in December when a federal jury sided with Epic Games, a video game developer, and its antitrust claims against Google's operation of its app store. Eight months later, a federal judge sided with the Justice Department and said Google broke the law to rig the search market.
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ETtech Explainer: Behind Google’s fight against a second big antitrust trial in US
This case is part of US President Joe Biden’s broader push to regulate Big Tech using antitrust laws. It comes close on the heels of a significant verdict in favour of the justice department on August 5, when a judge ruled that Google had illegally monopolised online search.
Bits & Bytes: Top developments from the tech industry this week
Apple plans to switch all iPhones to OLED displays by 2025, moving away from LCDs. This change will exclude Japan's Sharp and Japan Display from Apple's supply chain. Meanwhile, Google faces a second antitrust trial over its digital ad business, and the Internet Archive loses an appeal over its online lending library. TikTok expands its election resources.
Google abusing power over website ads, UK regulator says
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it believed Google was using anti-competitive practices in open display ad tech through the preference of its own ad exchange, which could be harming thousands of British publishers and advertisers. Google said it disagreed with the CMA's view and would respond accordingly.
EU regulators to seek feedback on Google's compliance proposals to avert charges
The European Commission launched an investigation in March into Google to see if it favours its vertical search engines such as Google Shopping, Google Flights and Google Hotels over rivals, and whether it discriminates against third-party services on Google search results.
Google's antitrust defeat opens the door to lawsuit from Yelp
On Wednesday, Yelp, the popular online service that lets people find and review local businesses, sued Google in federal court in San Francisco. Yelp claims that Google used its dominance as a general, or all-purpose, search engine to gain an unfair advantage in local search services. Yelp is seeking unspecified monetary damages and an order for Google to stop its anticompetitive practices in a jury trial.
Apple defense bolstered by Google monopoly ruling in US case
A recent ruling against Google's search business as an illegal monopoly may bolster Apple's defense in its own antitrust case. The court's decision supports the idea that companies generally have no obligation to assist competitors, which could help Apple argue that its limitations on third-party developers are reasonable and not anti-competitive.
UK watchdog shuts down probes into Apple and Google app stores
The tech giants have faced scrutiny around the world over the dominance of their respective App Store and Google Play store platforms, which critics say impose unfair charges on app developers and limit competition.
US judge says 'monopolist' Google can't avoid app store reforms
US District Judge James Donato in San Francisco heard from technology experts and lawyers for Epic and Google about proposed reforms in the blockbuster antitrust case. Donato showed impatience for Google's protests about the costs and difficulty of implementing many of Epic's proposals, and signaled he would issue a ruling that would maximize users' and developers' flexibility to download and distribute apps outside the Play store.
Antitrust case: US weighs breaking up 'monopolistic' Google
The move would be Washington's first push to dismantle a company for illegal monopolisation since unsuccessful efforts to break up Microsoft Corp two decades ago. Less severe options include forcing Google to share more data with competitors and measures to prevent it from gaining an unfair advantage in AI products, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private conversations.
Will the US government break up Google? What could happen to Android OS, Chrome? Here's all you need to know
There are high chances that Alphabet Inc' prized possessions, Google, could end up being broken up, a move that is currently being contemplated by the Justice Department, around the recent federal antitrust case involving the company over the monopolization of the online search market.
The Google antitrust case must not end with a slap on the wrist
A federal judge has ruled Google has a monopoly on online search and has been illegally defending that monopoly for years. But what should the remedy be?
Google wins dismissal of US consumer lawsuit over mobile search
A federal judge in California dismissed a lawsuit against Google for dominating web search on smartphones, citing lack of evidence. However, plaintiffs were given a chance to amend their complaint. This follows a D.C. court's ruling that Google's contracts with Apple created an illegal monopoly. Plaintiffs must refile by Sept. 9.
Pernod India's legal head to join Google amid antitrust, criminal probes
Pernod Ricard India's legal head, Bijoya Roy, has resigned and is set to join Google in November. During Roy's tenure, Pernod has faced several investigations and legal cases, including a $250-million tax demand following accusations of undervaluation of imports, which it is contesting.
OpenAI is a bigger threat to Google than US regulators
A US ruling on Monday, which found that Google built an illegal search monopoly, is considered a big win for regulators. But an increasing number of people using AI tools including OpenAI's popular ChatGPT chatbot is already eroding Google's dominance, sources, investors and analysts said. Microsoft-backed OpenAI said last month it was also breaking into the search game with a slow launch of SearchGPT, an AI-powered search engine with real-time access to information from the internet.
How the Google antitrust ruling may influence tech competition
A federal judge ruled that Google violated antitrust laws by hindering competition in internet search, which could have significant implications for similar tech industry cases. The ruling draws on the Microsoft case from 2000. Judge Amit P. Mehta will decide on remedies to promote competition and innovation in the tech sector.
A judge has branded Google a monopolist, but AI may bring about quicker change in internet search
The rise of artificial intelligence may reshape the landscape more quickly and profoundly than any judge ever could. The way consumers navigate the internet is more likely to be affected by advances in AI products - such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's own Gemini - before a nearly 4-year-old case brought by the U.S. Justice Department is finally resolved.
Google antitrust ruling may pose $20 billion risk for Apple
Google pays Apple $20 billion annually, or about 36% of what it earns from search advertising made through the Safari browser, for the privilege, according to Morgan Stanley analysts. If the deal is undone, the iPhone maker could take a 4-6% hit to its profit, the analysts estimated.
Why Google faces the slice, not the chop
Tech firms like Google have built strong antitrust defences, enabling them to manage US rulings on search efficiently. Legal processes are time-consuming, offering chances for settlements. Google's search dominance remains intact, supported by its broad application suite. While multiple lawsuits could weaken Google's stance, it continues to hold a significant market presence.
Google monopoly ruling could help Apple defense in antitrust case
A federal judge mostly sided with state and federal antitrust enforcers in the blockbuster case on Monday that ruled Google's search business was an illegal monopoly, but threw out a claim by several U.S. states that one of Google's ad tools was designed to give the company an advantage over Microsoft's Bing.
In landmark Google ruling, a warning to companies about preserving evidence
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C., lambasted Google for allegedly failing to preserve internal chats and abusing protections for legal communications, but he declined to formally sanction the company.
Will Google's defeat in antitrust case bring major changes to Google Search? Here's all you need to know
Google is currently amid a massive controversy after losing out on a major antitrust case that can create issues for users around using Google Search. A federal judge has stated that Google illegally monopolized online search by paying tech companies in order to dominate the search market.
How the Google antitrust ruling may influence tech competition
Google's loss could have major ripple effects for competition today. U.S. regulators have also accused Apple, Amazon and Meta of violating antitrust laws by advantaging their own products on the platforms they run and acquiring smaller rivals.
Google has an illegal monopoly on search, US judge finds
This move is also a green light to aggressive US antitrust enforcers prosecuting Big Tech, a sector that has been under fire from across the political spectrum. The ruling paves the way for a second trial to determine potential fixes, possibly including a breakup of Google parent Alphabet, which would change the landscape of the online advertising world that Google has dominated for years.
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