anti-competition issues
The Five Biggest Issues for Technology Companies in 2021
After a year of startling growth, the tech industry faces a more vexing 2021. The pandemic helped bring the world’s tech giants such as Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. to new heights in 2020. The shift to online shopping and remote working accelerated at a pace that would have been inconceivable without the coronavirus. But …
Justice Department Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google
The Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit Tuesday alleging that Google engaged in anticompetitive conduct to preserve monopolies in search and search advertising that form the cornerstones of its vast conglomerate. The long-anticipated case, filed in a Washington, D.C., federal court, marks the most aggressive U.S. legal challenge to a company’s dominance in the tech …
‘Too Complex to Break Up’ Is the New ‘Too Big to Fail’
Days before, Facebook Inc. produced its own document contending that breaking it up would be a “nonstarter” for a number of reasons, including that the company’s constituent parts are already too complicated and interconnected for any of them—Instagram, WhatsApp, its ad business—to be spun off as individual companies or walled off as separate divisions. “After …
House Panel Says Big Tech Wields Monopoly Power
WASHINGTON—America’s biggest technology companies have leveraged their dominance to stamp out competition and stifle innovation, according to a Democratic-led House panel, which said Congress should consider forcing the tech giants to separate their dominant online platforms from other business lines. Republicans issued a separate response endorsing strong antitrust enforcement targeting the companies but didn’t endorse …
U.S. Winds Down Probe Into Wireless Carriers Over eSIM Technology
The U.S. Justice Department is winding down its antitrust probe into whether U.S. wireless carriers steered technical standards to make it harder for customers to switch providers, suggesting it is unlikely to file charges in the matter. The department in 2018 demanded information from AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and other U.S. companies as well …
Google Draws House Antitrust Scrutiny of Internet Protocol
Congressional antitrust investigators are scrutinizing plans by Google to use a new internet protocol, concerned that it could give the company a competitive advantage by making it harder for others to access consumer data. In a letter this month, investigators for the House Judiciary Committee asked Google for information about its “decision regarding whether to …
States to Launch Google, Facebook Antitrust Probes
WASHINGTON—State attorneys general are formally launching separate antitrust probes into Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google unit starting next week, according to people familiar with the matter, putting added pressure on tech giants already under federal scrutiny. The Google probe is expected to be announced at a news conference outside the U.S. Supreme Court on …
U.S. Appeals Court Freezes Antitrust Ruling Against Qualcomm
A federal appeals court froze a ruling that Qualcomm Inc. had committed an array of antitrust violations, a boost for the chip maker that allows it to maintain its business practices for the time being. The court decision Friday is a setback for the Federal Trade Commission, which had sued the company alleging it had …
FTC Approves Roughly $5 Billion Facebook Settlement
The Federal Trade Commission voted this week to approve a roughly $5 billion settlement with Facebook Inc. over a long-running probe into the tech giant’s privacy missteps, according to people familiar with the matter. The 3-2 vote by FTC commissioners broke along party lines, with the Republican majority lining up to support the pact while …
Advertisers Are Wary of Breaking Up Google and Facebook
CANNES, France—Advertisers have griped about the power Google and Facebook Inc. FB 1.09% wield over the digital ad market. But they are generally wary of breaking up the tech giants, judging by the views of the attendees at the annual advertising festival held here on the French Riviera. The U.S. Justice Department is gearing up …
