antitrust

Microsoft repeats YouTube gripe as Google probe winds down

Google has yet to address an alleged YouTube-Windows Phone compatibility issue, Microsoft says, despite the fact that Google is under antitrust scrutiny in the U.S. and abroad and the issue is allegedly more than a year old.

With this latest charge, Microsoft seems to be trying to get ahead of the expected slight wrist-slap Google could receive from the Federal Trade Commission this month -- if news reports about the likely outcome of a two-year-old Google antitrust investigation are correct, that is. (It's worth noting there's new evidence the FTC might be turning the screws on Google a bit tighter than originally anticipated.) … Read more

FTC, EU to postpone Google antitrust decisions, report says

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission's final decision on its 20-month long antitrust probe of the search giant will be delayed until next year, Bloomberg reported late yesterday after speaking with unnamed sources.

The results of the probe were expected to be announced this week.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company has been in talks with the FTC over the past two weeks, and according to Bloomberg, Google has been preparing a letter with voluntary changes to try to end the FTC's investigation without it resulting in a formal settlement or eventual lawsuit.

In addition, the FTC has … Read more

Google to submit antitrust probe settlement offer in January

Google is getting ready to make its settlement offer to the European Union's antitrust commission, the commission's head said in a statement released today.

EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said he met with Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt today and expects a "detailed commitment" in January, according to an e-mailed statement from Alumnia's office.

"Since our preliminary talks with Google started in July, we have substantially reduced our differences regarding possible ways to address each of the four competition concerns expressed by the commission," he said in the statement.

When reached for comment, … Read more

Google will alter search to end FTC antitrust inquiry, says report

The Federal Trade Commission may bring its two-year antitrust investigation of Google to a close by allowing the company to make voluntary changes to its search business, according to a report.

The search giant is said to be readying an announcement about changes to its use of "snippets," bits of text culled from sites such as Yelp and TripAdvisor and displayed in search results, Politico reports, citing unnamed sources. Yelp and others had charged Google with using their content without permission.

Google will also make tweaks that will allow for easier porting of search-ad campaigns from Google to … Read more

Apple, publishers settle in EU e-book antitrust case

Apple and four major publishers have settled a case with European antitrust regulators after negotiations began in September, ending an ongoing row over e-book price fixing.

The iPhone and iPad maker, along with HarperCollins, Hachette Livre, Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck-owned Macmillan, and CBS-owned Simon & Schuster (CNET and ZDNet are also owned by CBS), all agreed to legally binding conditions that would ease pricing restrictions on Amazon and other e-book sellers.

A fifth publisher, Penguin -- owned by U.K. group Pearson -- is still under investigation as the publisher "chose not to offer commitments," but … Read more

Google likely to settle with FTC on patents, reports say

The Federal Trade Commission is nearing a partial settlement with Google in its long-running antitrust investigation, according to reports today from Politico and Reuters.

Both outlets, citing sources familiar with the matter, said Google is prepared to agree not to use its patent war chest to block the sale of products it believes infringe on its intellectual property. The agreement would cover what are known as standard essential patents, which cover technology used in technical standards. (Reuters uses the example of a patent that ensures one brand of wireless phone can call another brand.)

Google has used those patents in … Read more

What inspires EC's Neelie Kroes? Angry Birds

PARIS -- It began with a meeting this week between two Finns from Angry Birds maker Rovio Mobile and Neelie Kroes, the vice president of the European Commission's digital agenda. It ended with a jumble of politicians trying to learn what they could do to make Europe more economically vital in the digital age.

"Please skip the next appointment. I need more time with these guys," Kroes told her staff, then called vice ministers and other officials into the meeting. "In three hours we had a list to do for ourselves, and also for getting inspiration. … Read more

EU hits Philips, LG, Samsung, others with $1.9B antitrust fine

European antitrust authorities have imposed a series of fines against former producers of cathode-ray tube (CRT) televisions and computer displays for "cartel" activity, amounting to 1.47 billion euros ($1.92 billion) in total.

The companies were charged under EU antitrust and competition law with fixing prices in the CRT television market -- a long-lived technology that was gradually replaced by alternatives such as liquid-crystal display (LCD) and plasma displays -- for a decade ending in 2006.

In a statement today, the European Commission said the companies artificially "fixed prices, shared markets, allocated customers between themselves and … Read more

FTC nominee to recuse self from Google cases, report says

Joshua Wright, a Federal Trade Commission nominee who is considered a Google ally, will reportedly vow to recuse himself from any cases involving the search giant for two years if his nomination is approved.

Wright, a law professor at George Mason University and the Obama administration's nominee to fill a Republican place on the FTC to replace retiring J. Thomas Rosch, is expected to make a statement to that effect during his confirmation hearing on the Senate Commerce Committee tomorrow, two sources told political site Politico.

Wright, who has already faced scrutiny for accepting academic research funds -- albeit … Read more