Blog Post
Details of Google’s proposed settlement with the European Union to avoid antitrust charges have been leaking out of Brussels over the weekend. And while EU competition authorities appear to have accomplished more that the gentle tap on the wrist meted out by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the deal as so far revealed doesn’t do enough to end Google’s anti-competitive practices.
Eleven Internet Companies are pressing European antitrust regulators to take strong action against Google so that the Internet giant’s smaller rivals aren’t hurt. And what happens across the pond in this case could have an impact on possible antitrust action in the United States.
Google may have only received a tap on the wrist from the Federal Trade Commission when the agency closed the U.S. antitrust investigation without taking action against the Internet giant for skewing search results to favor its services, but it’s looking increasingly likely that Google will face strong action on the other side of the Atlantic.
Blog Post
Last weekend news broke that the Federal Trade Commission was about to settle its two-year antitrust investigation of Google with what charitably could be termed a slight tap on the wrist. But by Tuesday night the reported holiday gift to the Internet giant was unraveling and the FTC signaled it would keep the investigation going into January. So what’s behind the Commission’s new found spine? Is it real? Will it last?
A federal judge’s ruling late Friday in a key privacy case demonstrates the need to implement tough “Do Not Track” rules and to take decisive action on the antitrust front against Google.
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Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz has given Google what Bloomberg News Service describes as an ultimatum to settle the agency’s antitrust investigation in the next few days or face a lawsuit.
Blog Post
A weekend New York Times article puts a clear focus on the issues that are drawing antitrust regulators to focus on the Internet giant’s anticompetitive practices. Written by Steve Lohr and Clair Cain Miller the…
Blog Post
News broke over the weekend that Federal Trade Commission staff is calling for the Commission to bring an antitrust case against Google for abusing its dominance in search, an action Consumer Watchdog first called for more than two years ago.
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Consumer Watchdog has long been critical of the way Google has had easy access to the corridors of power in the Obama Administration. Now there is clear sign that the Internet giant has lost its luster with the President.
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Google — facing the possibility of a penalty of around $4 billion — is trying to cut a deal with European antitrust regulators that would settle the regulators’ objections without having to pay a fine.
It’s not certain that an agreement can be reached, but if one is, it will have a direct impact on the United States. Joaquin Almunia, EU competition commissioner, said that any concessions the Internet giant offers to resolve the EU’s antitrust concerns would be applied worldwide.
