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Google catches a break in its Search and Assistant antitrust case
A US district court judge dismissed some of the DOJ's claims
Google's search business has been facing legal tussles from multiple directions over the past few years due to its market dominance. In late 2020, the US Department of Justice and several states slapped the search giant with an antitrust lawsuit, targeting Google's search app, which is a pre-installed fixture on many of our favorite Android phones. Government officials argued that the company's core business stifles competition to the detriment of its smaller rivals. US District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C. previously scheduled the trial to start on September 12, but ahead of the hearing, the court tossed out some of the complainants' arguments, including one that Google favored its own search engine over other platforms.
The EU may hit Google where it hurts the most
One of the biggest threats yet to Google's ad business
Google's advertising business has frequently been the subject of antitrust investigations from competition watchdogs across the world in a broader effort to diminish the company's alleged dominance in the advertising technology business. Earlier this year, the US Justice Department and eight states sued the search giant, accusing it of monopolizing digital ads through anti-competitive behavior. Google allegedly abused its dominance in ad exchanges and the tools used to take part in the bidding process to cut off competitors. The lawsuit wanted Google to divest its online ad tech business, which would severely hit the company's bottom line. The EU's European Commission now wants the same thing, as it's ready to formally file a "charge sheet" against Google on Wednesday.
Google faces yet another antitrust probe over content licensing
The search giant's potential antitrust violations keep mounting
Google owns the world’s most prevalent search engine, which includes one of the leading news aggregators today, Google News. This dominance forces news outlets big and small to play ball with the search giant in order to have their content show up in either. In 2020, French newsrooms declared victory after Google conceded to paying news publishers more ad revenue through a slate of licensing deals. Journalists in Spain might follow suit in the future after the country's competition watchdog opens an antitrust investigation into Google.
That antitrust bill targeting big tech might not pass Senate
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer believes there isn’t enough support
Big tech companies rule over many aspects of our lives, serving as gatekeepers that hold other innovative businesses back from changing the landscape. Legislation is watching companies and services like Google, Facebook, Apple, and Amazon with more scrutiny, and there is even a new antitrust bill that is supposed to pass the Senate this year to reign in big tech. Unfortunately, it looks like the bill might not make it before the midterm elections. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer signaled that he doesn’t believe the bill will have enough supporters in the Senate to pass.
Google reportedly offers to reorganize ad business to head off US antitrust case
But it's probably not enough to assuage the feds
Big Tech is increasingly in the sights of US regulators, and Google is at the top of the list. For the last several years, Google has been the target of a Justice Department probe that observers believe will lead to a Microsoft-style lawsuit seeking to break up the search giant. A new report claims that Google is so concerned about the prospects of a suit that it's willing to voluntarily reorganize its ad business. And it's made some interesting offers to the government.
Regulators around the world are closing in on Google’s potentially anti-competitive strategies
The latest service to get a closer look from regulators is Google’s Maps Platform
Monopolistic big tech companies are increasingly feeling regulatory pressure from all sides. As exemplified by John Oliver in a recent Last Week Tonight episode, that’s more than likely a good thing for consumers, but it will have serious implications for the affected business models. The latest regulatory investigation comes from Germany, where the German Federal Cartel Office is now looking into the Google Maps Platform.
US Justice Department accelerates Google Maps antitrust probe
The investigation has been underway since 2020
Google Maps is an essential and omnipresent tool for a reason: Its maps and directions are accurate, user-friendly, and they usually provide all the information you need to get from point A to point B. But there have been allegations that Google doesn't play well with its competition when it comes to using Maps and other apps, and unfortunately for the search giant, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) is looking closely into those arguments.
Google unironically warns that antitrust action against it could literally kill you
Nice search engine you got there, would be a shame if something happened to it
Google is no stranger to being charged with anticompetitive actions, but the severity of those accusations has really heated up over the last few years. Lawsuits filed in the US and the EU — some of which the company has already lost — have argued that its dominance over online search has given it the power to favor its own products and results, all while allegedly creating backroom deals with Facebook and manipulating ad prices. Google is defending itself in a new blog post that aims to push US lawmakers to avoid passing legislation that, in its opinion, would harm the user's overall experience.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai was aware of anti-competitive ads deal with Facebook, Texas AG alleges
Meta's Zuckerberg and Sandberg also knew about 'Jedi Blue'
Court filings from the Texas attorney general's office which have just been unsealed allege that top executives at Google and Facebook (now Meta) knew of and supported a deal that gave the social media giant a sweetheart deal on internet ads. They're the latest revelation in the midst of a multi-state antitrust lawsuit against the search giant.
Google loses massive $2.8 billion antitrust appeal with the EU
Court cites anti-competitive nature of Google's practices
Google's had to deal with charges of anti-competitive behavior for nearly as long as it's been in business. And while none of that's new, over the past few years it's faced a slew of fresh lawsuits across Asia, Europe, and even America. Back in 2017 Google lost an antitrust case before the European Commission and got hit with a $2.8 billion fine, the largest ever imposed by the EU at that time. While clearly Google would prefer to avoid paying that princely sum, today it lost its first appeal in front of Europe’s second-highest court.
Scandalous Google antitrust suit accuses company of market manipulation, collusion, and worse
'Jedi Blue' saw Google team up with Facebook to keep its ad auctions dominant
It's hard to keep track of all of the lawsuits Google is facing these days, but one of its most significant legal challenges from the past year is a barrage of antitrust lawsuits filed by both the Department of Justice and several state attorneys general. Thanks to some newly-unredacted filings first unsealed on Friday, we're finally getting a good idea as to how Google runs its advertising business, including claims of collusion, manipulation, shady deals, and more.
India's Google antitrust complaint is a familiar refrain
Sky blue, sun rose in the east, Google's got a fresh antitrust complaint
Google's international antitrust woes continue. This time it's a federal regulatory agency in India giving the company some expensive trouble: the Competition Commission of India found that Google is engaging in "anti-competitive, unfair, and restrictive trade practices" in the mobile phone market and related areas. The report concludes that Google violated five different sections of India's Competition Act of 2002.
Google's anti-competitive behavior costs it another $177 million
It's South Korea's turn to dish out an antitrust fine this time around
Only a couple of weeks after the South Korean government passed a bill that will force Google (and Apple) to allow app developers to receive payments via third-party systems, the country's regulator has dealt another huge blow to the Mountain View company. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has announced that it's fining Google's parent company Alphabet the modest sum of $177 million for abusing its dominance in the smartphone OS market.
Judge rules iPhone devs can route in-app transactions away from App Store, but Apple declares a win
Epic Games, the company that launched the lawsuit, will appeal
Apple probably knew what was coming down the pike when it decided last week to allow app developers to communicate to customers ways to conduct in-app transactions that circumvent the App Store and its 30% commission fee. But it looks like the skids are coming on anyway as the most prominent lawsuit over the iPhone maker's alleged monopoly on iOS app sales takes a final, major turn.
South Korea could be the first country to legislate open app store payments
It's the most aggressive action taken by any country to loosen the stranglehold on mobile app monetization
South Korea is set to regulate an end to exclusive payment terms on app stores, striking an economic blow against the integrated mobile systems of Google and Apple. A bill approved by the National Assembly this week would force both companies to allow app developers to accept payments from third-party systems, on the Play Store and App Store, respectively. This would threaten the lucrative cut (between 15% and 30%) they receive on each digital transaction.
It looks like Google's willing to bend the Play Store rules if you're a big enough customer
The fallout from numerous antitrust lawsuits continue
The last couple of years have brought increased scrutiny on Google Play's power over Android developers, especially in the wake of its lawsuit with Epic. The company followed Apple's lead back in March, lowering its fees to 15% for the first $1 million in revenue. A newly unsealed consumer lawsuit involving Google has revealed some new facts about how the Play Store is managed behind the scenes, including a secret deal made with Netflix.
Google tries to move the goalposts in response to Play Store antitrust suit
A lengthy blog post attempts to dismiss some of the complaints made by dozens of state attorneys
It's been less than a day since a coalition of dozens of US states sued Google in a federal court for antitrust behavior, citing its collection of fees for distribution on the Play Store. Google has fired back with a lengthy blog post in the standard corporate "nu-uh" counter.
Google just got handed a massive multi-state antitrust lawsuit over Play Store fees
It's only the latest in a long line of Google's ongoing legal woes
The mobile market has been hemming and hawing over the cuts that Google and Apple take for distributing mobile apps ever since Epic made its big stink over Fortnite last year. It looks like that story is having a domino effect, as a new lawsuit against Google has been filed in United States federal court. No less than thirty-six states and the District of Columbia, representing more than half the country, are suing Google for monopolistic practices.
Sonos is giving some serious side-eye to Google's assertion that Assistant and Alexa can't play nicely
More fuel for the fire in the ongoing legal skirmish
It's no secret that Sonos and Google aren't best friends right now. The companies are currently involved in several different lawsuits regarding intellectual property theft and copyright infringement, and it doesn't seem like the relationship will improve anytime soon. Sonos's Chief Legal Officer Eddie Lazarus delivered remarks to the Senate Judiciary antitrust committee yesterday, calling for action on a lack of interoperability procedures preventing them from using multiple voice assistants at once.
Following Apple's lead, Google cuts Play Store fees in half for most developers
The first $1 million in revenue will get a lower 15% split
For half a year there's been a huge storm brewing over app store platforms, the money that they make, and who gets to keep how much of it. It all came to a head when Epic dared Apple and Google to kick Fortnite off of the App Store and Play Store for working around the usual in-app purchase revenue split. Long story short: Apple and Google did just that, and the legal battle is ongoing. But the fallout is affecting other parts of the industry.