antitrust

A significant legal battle is unfolding between Google and the Department of Justice (DOJ), potentially reshaping the tech giant's structure. As part of its antitrust case against Google, the DOJ has proposed remedies ranging from business practice ... changes to divesting major assets like Google Chrome. But what might happen if Chrome is sold off? Who could buy it, and would these measures truly foster a competitive landscape? The DOJ's Push for Structural Remedies In its ongoing antitrust case, the DOJ accuses Google of monopolizing general search services and search advertising. After Judge ... (view more)

The Department of Justice says it may ask a judge to forcibly break up Google's business over its alleged monopoly abuses. Google called it an overreach and says such a move could kill Android or Chrome. Google lost a court case in August for ... breaking antitrust laws in the way it built up and maintained a 90 percent market share in online searches. The DOJ must now put proposals before a court on how to remedy this breach. In a preliminary filing, the DOJ says it is considering the most serious option of "structural remedies". That could mean Google would no longer be able to maintain its ... (view more)

US regulators want new rules on when companies - particularly tech firms - can merge. They say existing rules aren't designed to cover businesses that offer free services to consumers. Traditionally one of the key questions in approving or blocking ... mergers is whether it reduces competition to the point that consumers no longer benefit from price competition. The rules have only been updated once since 1984. Regulators say even that review in 2010 is now outdated as the tech world has changed so much. In particular, they point to the way many tech giants offer free services to the public and ... (view more)

Google has been fined $5 billion USD for breaking antitrust rules. European officials ruled it had acted unfairly in the way it linked its own services with Android devices. The fine comes from the European Commission, the administrative wing of the ... European Union, whose competition rules apply in 28 countries. It says Google breached the rules through the restrictions it places on companies that want to use its Android system on phones and tablets. Although the system is technically open source, regulators say three elements of Google's set-up go too far in promoting its other products and ... (view more)

Early last year, Microsoft released a free version of Windows for manufacturers that produced tablet computers with screen sizes smaller than nine inches. Known as "Windows 8.1 with Bing," the forecast was to make a big difference to the economics ... for manufacturers weighing up which operating system to use on its devices. Analysts are now speculating whether Microsoft will do the same with Windows 10 and, if so, whether the offer will apply on traditional PCs. It also raises the possibility that Microsoft could face accusations of unfair behavior in promoting its search engine . ... (view more)