Page 2 - Us Antitrust Case

US DoJ files case against Apple claiming illegal monopoly over smartphones

The Justice Department on Thursday announced a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Apple, accusing the tech giant of engineering an illegal monopoly in smartphones that boxes out competitors and stifles innovation. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New Jersey, alleges that Apple has monopoly power in the smartphone market and uses its control over the iPhone to engage in a broad, sustained, and illegal course of conduct. The lawsuit which was also filed with 16 state attorneys general is the latest example of the Justice Department's approach to aggressive enforcement of federal antitrust law that officials say is aimed at ensuring a fair and competitive market, even as it has lost some significant anticompetition cases. President Joe Biden has called for the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to vigorously enforce antitrust statutes. The increased policing of corporate mergers and business deals has been met with resistance from some business leaders who have

Apple meets DOJ antitrust chief in last-ditch bid to avoid expected suit

Apple's App Store, which charges developers a commission of either 15% or 30%, has come under heavy criticism by developers and lawmakers

Apple to open US App Store to allow outside payment after SC decision

Both Apple and Fortnite maker Epic Games Inc. had asked the court to hear an appeal related to the case. The justices turned down the appeals without explanation

Alphabet loses Google Play Store antitrust battle with Epic Games

Epic largely lost a similar challenge to Apple Inc.'s app store two years ago and both companies have asked the US Supreme Court to review their dispute

Google trial focused on app store payments to be handed off to jury

A federal court jury is poised begin its deliberations in an antitrust trial focused on whether Google's efforts to profit from its app store for Android smartphones have been illegally gouging consumers and stifling innovation. Before the nine-person jury in San Francisco starts weighing the evidence on Monday, the lawyers on the opposing sides of the trial will present their closing arguments in a three-year-old case filed by Epic Games, the maker of the popular Fortnite video game. The four-week trial included testimony from both Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who sometimes seemed like a professor explaining complex topics while standing behind a lectern because of a health issue, and Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, who painted himself as a video game lover on a mission to take down a greedy tech titan. Epic alleged that Google has been exploiting its wealth and control of the Android software that powers most of the world's smartphones to protect a lucrative payment system within its Play Stor

Amazon boosted junk ads, deleted messages to thwart antitrust probe: US FTC

The FTC alleges that Amazon's increased use of ads boosts profits while it harms sellers and consumers, making it harder for shoppers to find products they are searching for

Pichai defends paying for making Google default search engine on devices

Testifying in the biggest US antitrust case in a quarter century, Google CEO Sundar Pichai defended his company's practice of paying Apple and other tech companies to make Google the default search engine on their devices, saying the intent was to make the user experience seamless and easy". The Department of Justice contends that Google a company whose very name is synonymous with scouring the internet pays off tech companies to lock out rival search engines to smother competition and innovation. The payments came to more than $26 billion in 2021, according to court documents the government entered into the record last week. Google counters that it dominates the market because its search engine is better than the competition. Pichai, the star witness in Google's defence, testified Monday that Google's payments to phone manufacturers and wireless phone companies were partly meant to nudge them into making costly security upgrades and other improvements to their devices, not just t

What would Google's antitrust trial mean for user's search habits

If government regulators prevail against Google in the biggest US antitrust trial in a quarter century, it's likely to unleash drastic changes that will undermine the dominance of a search engine that defines the internet for billions of people. As the 10-week trial probing Google's business practices nears its midway point, it's still too early to tell if US District Judge Amit Mehta will side with the Justice Department and try to handcuff one of the world's most dominant tech companies. If Mehta rules that Google has been running an illegal monopoly in search, the punishment could open up new online avenues for consumers and businesses to explore in pursuit of information, entertainment and commerce. The judge can compel Google to open the floodgates so more startups and third-party competitors can put greater competitive pressure on Google, which will create higher quality online services, said Luther Lowe, senior vice president of public policy at Yelp. The online business rev

Google changed ad auction formula in 2017, raising prices 15%, says witness

Google's advertising auctions require the winner to pay only a penny more than the runner-up

Google tweaks ad auctions to hit revenue targets, as much as 5%: Exec

company frequently makes changes to the auctions it uses to sell search ads - the text and shopping promotions that appear at the top of a results page, said Jerry Dischler, VP for Google ad products

A search for fairness

Google case will be vital for competition laws

Google's search defaults prey on power of habit: Expert in antitrust trial

"Search engine defaults generate a sizable and robust bias towards the default," Rangel said. "Defaults have a powerful impact on consumer decisions"

DoJ pushes ahead with antitrust case against Google, questions ex-employee

The US Justice Department pressed ahead with its antitrust case against Google on Wednesday, questioning a former employee of the search engine giant about deals he helped negotiate with phone companies in the 2000s. Chris Barton, who worked for Google from 2004 to 2011, testified that he made it a priority to negotiate for Google to be the default search engine on mobile devices. In exchange, phone service providers or manufacturers were offered a share of revenue generated when users clicked on ads. In the biggest antitrust case in a quarter century, the government is arguing that Google has rigged the market in its favour by locking in its search engine as the one users see first on their devices, shutting out competition and smothering innovation. Google counters that it dominates the internet search market because its product is better than the competition. Even when it holds the default spot on smartphones and other devices, it argues, users can switch to rival search engines

Microsoft on 'Right Side' of antitrust battle, says CEO Satya Nadella

Nadella said he is concerned about the wave of hacks in the past few months

Facebook seeks US FTC Chair Lina Khan's recusal in antitrust case

The FTC declined comment on the recusal petition. Two weeks ago Amazon, which is under investigation by the FTC, also asked for Khan to be recused

Facebook hits $1 trillion value after judge rejects antitrust complaints

Facebook shares rose more than 4% after the ruling. The share price rise put Facebook's market capitalisation over $1 trillion for the first time

Apple cannot block pre-installed apps removal under antitrust reform bill

The proposal is part of a package of bipartisan bills that would impose significant new constraints on how tech companies operate, restricting acquisitions and forcing them to exit some businesses

Judge in US antitrust case against Facebook delays trial preparation

The judge in the US government's antitrust case against Facebook Inc said the social media company's motion to dismiss the lawsuit "raises a number of serious challenges"

Facebook asks court to dismiss US government, states antitrust cases

Facebook asked a federal court to dismiss major antitrust cases filed by the US FTC and nearly every US state, saying they failed to show the company had a monopoly or harmed consumers

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