ANTITRUST

ANTITRUST
EU Regulator Says Big Tech Antitrust Collaboration With US Possible
July 15, 2021

European Union Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said she thinks the future of U.S. and EU alignment on competition enforcement looks bright, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported. Vestager said she thinks there is likely to be “much more intense work when it comes to...

ANTITRUST
Senators Vow ‘Dramatic Action’ In Big Tech Antitrust Fight
July 14, 2021

Big Tech-focused antitrust bills being crafted by several key senators “would force drastic changes” for some companies “and destroy products enjoyed by consumers,” Bloomberg reported. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is working with Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota on an antitrust bill he said is...

ANTITRUST
Facebook Asks FTC Head For Recusal In Antitrust Case
July 14, 2021

Facebook is asking Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Lina Khan to recuse herself in an antitrust case, the second Big Tech company in as many weeks calling for the FTC head to step away from her agency’s investigation. As The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday...

ANTITRUST
China Holds Up Ant Group As Warning To Other Payment Firms
July 08, 2021

The People’s Bank of China is warning big technology companies in the country that they will be subject to the same antitrust scrutiny and measures as Alibaba’s FinTech affiliate Ant Group, Reuters reported on Thursday (July 8). China halted Ant Group’s $37 billion initial public...

ANTITRUST
States Sue Google Over App Store Practices
July 07, 2021

Google’s app store, Google Play, is the target of an antitrust lawsuit filed by dozens of states, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, was led by Utah. Then New York, California...

ANTITRUST
EU Watchdog Tells Apple That Security Issues Cannot Stifle Competition 
July 02, 2021

Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission (EC) executive vice-president and competition commissioner, said on Friday (July 2) that Apple can’t use privacy and security concerns to stifle competitors on its App Store, Yahoo Finance reported. Security and privacy issues were the central reasons that Apple CEO...

ANTITRUST
FTC Eases Standards For Competition Lawsuits
July 02, 2021

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted to rescind a 2015 policy statement that hampered its ability to file antitrust lawsuits, effectively lowering the bar for such actions. That 2015 statement will now be done away with in favor of a new goal for the...

ANTITRUST
Apple, Amazon Face Antitrust Probe In Spain Over Online Sales
July 01, 2021

CNMC, the Spanish watchdog, is looking into the possibility of anticompetitive practices from companies like Apple and Amazon, a report from U.S. News says. The concerns spawned from the companies’ sales of electronic products online. “(Restrictions) would affect the retail sale of Apple products by...

ANTITRUST
Amazon Wants FTC Head To Recuse Herself In Antitrust Case
June 30, 2021

Amazon wants Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Lina Khan to recuse herself in antitrust investigations of the company, citing her past criticisms of the mammoth retailer, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday (June 30). “Given her long track record of detailed pronouncements about Amazon,...