CMA launches antitrust probe into Hollywood’s mega merger Media The UK’s competition watchdog has launched a formal merger enquiry into Paramount Skydance’s anticipated $110bn (£86bn) acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, escalating the regulatory hurdles facing a deal that has already triggered a fierce, multi-front corporate war over Hollywood jobs and executive payouts. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced Tuesday it has commenced its [...]
Google dodges Chrome breakup, but faces new pressures Tech Alphabet’s Google scored a partial victory in Washington after a US federal judge ruled it will not be forced to sell its Chrome browser or Android operating system as part of a landmark antitrust case. But the court stopped short of giving the tech giant a free pass, ordering it to share search data with [...]
Google faces final ruling in search antitrust case Tech Alphabet’s Google is bracing for the outcome of a historic antitrust trial, as final arguments are delivered in Washington on Friday. The US Department of Justice, or DOJ, backed by a coalition of states, is pushing for structural and behavioural remedies – including forcing Google to divest its Chrome browser – in a bid to [...]
Google pays up as antitrust scrutiny heightens May 13, 2025 Google’s recent settlement of $1.38bn (£1.05bn) with the state of Texas marks a significant moment in the tech titan’s ongoing legal battles over both privacy violations and anti-competitive practices. The settlement, which resolves two major lawsuits filed in 2022, accused Google of secretly collecting biometric data such as facial recognition and local tracking, without user [...]
Which? files £3bn claim against Apple over competition breaches November 14, 2024 Consumer rights group Which? has hit Apple with a £3bn lawsuit for alleged breaches of UK competition law in relation to its Icloud services.
Google break-up on the table in US antitrust case October 9, 2024 The US government is weighing up a break-up of Google in an attempt to end its monopoly over much of the internet. The US Department of Justice has said that it was considering asking a judge to impose “structural requirements” on the tech giant to prevent it from maintaining its dominance on search. “Fully remedying [...]
Google wins £1.3bn case against EU ruling over ad product September 18, 2024 Google has overturned a nearly €1.5bn (£1.3bn) EU fine related to its AdSense advertising platform in a win for the tech giant following two major fines. The General Court has found “errors” in the European Commission’s 2019 assessment of Google’s advertising contracts with publishers. Europe’s second highest court, based in Luxembourg, has annulled the fine [...]
Publishers rally as Google advertising antitrust trial restarts in US September 9, 2024 One month after a US court ruled that Google illegally maintained its monopoly on internet search, the tech giant is back in the dock. This time, Google’s lucrative online advertising business, which last year raked in nearly $240bn (£183bn), is under fire, with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and 17 states accusing its parent company, Alphabet, of monopolising digital [...]
Is Google a monopoly? Sort of, but that’s the free market August 20, 2024 How about a little trust in the dynamism of the free market? Writes Matthew Feeney
Taking the biscuit: Oreo maker Mondelez fined £287m by EU for cross-border trade curbs May 23, 2024 Oreo maker Mondelez has been fined £287m (337.5m euros) by EU antitrust regulators for impeding cross-border trade of chocolate, biscuits and coffee products between EU countries.