DOJ

Report: Google and DOJ close to ITA settlement

Google and the U.S. Department of Justice are said to be close to reaching a legal settlement over Google's intended $700 million acquisition of travel data company ITA Software, which was has been under scrutiny since the deal was announced last July.

Citing "people familiar with the matter," The Wall Street Journal reports that the proposal agreement, which would allow the purchase to go forward, is not finalized. That agreement, the Journal says, also lets the government keep an eye on Google for antitrust activities and could be made within days.

From the get-go, the proposed … Read more

Divestiture: When your carrier leaves you (FAQ)

It's been almost a month since AT&T dropped the $39 billion bomb that it was intending to acquire T-Mobile. And since that time, the wireless world had talked about little else. Indeed, the news of the potential merger dominated the CTIA show last month, and my CNET colleagues and I have fielded many reader questions over the marriage.

Your concerns about a merger are understandable. If approved by the feds, the deal would not only lump 130 million subscribers under one provider, but also it would result in just one GSM national carrier. Higher prices, customer service changes, and degraded coverage are top of mind for many consumers, but divestiture is another consequence to consider. We'll get into the details below, but the short story is that the combined carrier may have to stop service to your area. And if that happens, you can wind up with a different provider that you didn't choose. It's nothing to panic over, but it is something to keep in mind. So for more on divestiture and what it could mean to you, read on.… Read more

Justice Department investigates Web video group

The corporate wrangling over Web video standards, already a technically and legally complex matter, is getting a lot more complicated with the arrival of a Justice Department antitrust investigation.

Specifically, the DOJ is looking into whether the actions of patent licensing group MPEG LA are stifling a Google video encoding technology called VP8, The Wall Street Journal reported last night. The the California State Attorney General's office also is looking into the matter, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources.

MPEG LA licenses patents for Web video encoding technology, including today's widely used H.264, on behalf of a … Read more

Oracle to pay $46 million to settle Sun kickback charges

Oracle, Sun's new parent, is paying out $46 million over kickback allegations that got Sun in a bit of trouble.

Levied by the U.S. government, the fine will settle claims that Sun Microsystems had paid kickbacks to technology partners such as Accenture in return for recommendations that key government agencies buy from Sun. Sun allegedly paid outside consulting companies any time one of them convinced a federal agency to purchase a Sun product or service, the Department of Justice announced yesterday.

Beyond Sun, several other tech players were caught up in the kickback allegations, including Hewlett-Packard, which was … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1394: Our new name for product reviews: Touch My Body (podcast)

The DOJ is sniffing around again on the topic of mandatory data retention for ISPs: our advice? If this is their canary in the coal mine, kill the canary. Not cool. Also, will the Facebook phone be huge? I say yes, Tong is skeptical. Android developer interest is nearly equal to their interest in iOS, plenty of Android tablet news, and I give the Sony Dash the full Touch My Body. --Molly

Software groups urge probe of Novell patent sale

The Open Software Initiative and the Free Software Foundation yesterday released a joint statement, urging the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as the German Federal Cartel Office, to investigate the sale of Novell's more than 800 patents as part of its multibillion dollar sale to Attachmate in November.

In December, the OSI sent a position paper to the German Federal Cartel Office. That paper has been updated to name both software groups as the concerned parties and filed with the U.S. Department of Justice.

"Since making that filing, we have been joined by the Free … Read more

Sex-sting target convicted of attacks on media sites

A man reportedly targeted by an online sex sting was convicted yesterday on a charge relating to launching denial-of-service attacks on sites that posted stories about the incident.

Bruce Raisley, 49, of Kansas City, Mo., was convicted of launching a program that infected about 100,000 computers around the world and directing them to attack the Web sites of Rolling Stone Magazine and others, the Department of Justice said in a statement.

Specifically, he was accused of writing a virus that turned infected PCs into a botnet that then attacked the Web sites. He faces up to 10 years in … Read more

Government expands HP bribery probe

The U.S. government has widened its probe into possible bribes paid by Hewlett-Packard to help it capture a lucrative contract in Russia.

Officials in the U.S., Germany, and Russia have been investigating allegations that current and former employees of HP engaged in bribery, embezzlement, and tax evasion in connection with a business deal between Hewlett-Packard ISE GmbH, a former HP German subsidiary, and the chief public prosecutor's office in Russia, according to an SEC document filed by HP on Thursday (see Note 16 under Russia GPO and Related Investigations).

According to the allegations, the HP subsidiary paid … Read more

Justice Dept. sharpens focus on Google-ITA deal

Google is facing regulatory challenges from the Justice Department over its proposed purchase of online travel firm ITA Software.

The search giant must obtain government approval of its $700 million deal announced in early July to buy ITA Software, which helps travelers find cheaper airfares through relationships with major carriers, travel agencies, and travel search engines. Google wants to incorporate ITA's technology into its own search engine to make it easier for people to find tickets directly through Google.

But the Justice Department is concerned that a Google-owned ITA could give Google too much control over the online travel … Read more

HP to pay $55 million to settle kickback allegations

Hewlett-Packard has agreed to pay the U.S. government $55 million to settle charges that it paid kickbacks to technology partners for recommending HP products to federal agencies.

This final agreement, announced Monday by the Department of Justice, follows a tentative settlement reached earlier this month in which HP agreed in principle to resolve the case. The settlement closes the book on the DOJ's allegations that HP defrauded the General Services Administration (GSA) and other government agencies by paying "influencer fees" to third-party vendors.

"Contractors must deal fairly with the government when doing business with federal … Read more

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