antitrust

Congressman to FTC: Don't mess with Google

A congressman has told the Federal Trade Commission that it better not do anything to hurt Google's business or Congress might have to step in and reduce the agency's power.

Rep. Jared Polis, a democrat from Colorado, weighed in on the FTC's antitrust probe into the search giant's dominance in the industry -- and the reported lawsuit that may come next -- in a letter sent to the commission last week (see letter below). The agency is looking into whether or not Google is using its dominance to hurt rivals.

Polis said Google provides an important … Read more

Google might face FTC search crackdown

The Federal Trade Commission wants to crack down on Google for using its search dominance to hurt rivals, according to a pair of reports published today.

Four of the FTC's five commissioners believe Google illegally used its position as the top search provider to hurt competition, according to a report from Reuters, which cites people familiar with the matter.

And The New York Times cited its own unnamed sources in reporting that the commission is preparing a 100-page staff memo recommending that the government sue.

The FTC, which has been investigating the situation for more than a year, will … Read more

Google offers to brand its own services to fix antitrust concerns

Google may be offering European regulators a new carrot in its effort to sidestep an antitrust suit.

Under a new proposal, Google would label its own in-house services to distinguish them from those of third parties among its search results, according to the Financial Times. The offer is Google's latest attempt to placate European Union regulators who say the search giant is crowding out the rest of the market.

"People familiar" with the proposal told the FT that Google would tag its own maps, stock quotes, airline details, and other information to clearly identify them in its … Read more

Robert Bork on antitrust: Google is no Microsoft

Robert Bork, the fiery former federal judge whose U.S. Supreme Court nomination battle galvanized a generation of conservative activists, spent the late 1990s arguing that Microsoft should be carved up into multiple pieces because of antitrust violations.

Bork, an antitrust scholar and author of a landmark book on the topic, is now saying that Google is no Microsoft.

In a new analysis released at an event in Washington, D.C., today, Bork offers a point-by-point refutation of claims that Google has violated the law or acted in an anticompetitive fashion. Rather, Bork says, it's a case of competitors' … Read more

Europe poised to hit Microsoft over browser choice

The European Commission has reiterated plans to turn the thumbscrews on both Microsoft and Google over antitrust concerns.

European antitrust commissioner Joaquín Almunia said in a speech today in Warsaw that both "world brands" were in the Commission's sights -- Microsoft over its failure to properly offer users a choice of browser, Google over its fears the tech giant "had used its dominance in online search to foreclose advertisers and rivals."

"In the past, we have taken on companies such as Microsoft. To meet one of our concerns, the company pledged to … Read more

Microsoft likely to face hefty EU fine over browser choice 'error'

Europe's antitrust chief has sent the strongest signal yet that Microsoft faces heavy financial penalties after the software giant failed to include a "browser choice" screen for European users in the latest version of Windows 7.

In an interview with the AFP news agency, European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia reportedly said that fault had been admitted and said the European Commission needed to "react," suggesting heavy fines were on the way.

"The fault is there, it has been there for more than a year and it is clear that we need to react," … Read more

FTC near decision on Google antitrust inquiry, report says

Google will know by year's end whether it will face legal action over antitrust issues, according to a report.

The New York Times reports that Jon Leibowitz, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, told reporters after a luncheon at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., that he hoped to resolve the inquiry into Google's search results and advertising practices within the next few months.

The FTC has been looking into Google's practices for more than a year now, amid claims the company unfairly privileges search results having to do with its products over those involving competitors' offerings. … Read more

EU proceeds with Microsoft probe on browser choice -- report

Bloomberg is reporting European Union antitrust regulators are moving ahead with their investigation of Microsoft's failure to fulfill its obligation to provide users with Web-browser choice.

Bloomberg cited in a September 18 report "two people familiar with the matter" claiming that the EU is preparing a formal complaint.

If true, the news isn't surprising given the European Commission acknowledged back in July 2012 that it had received complaints that Microsoft wasn't providing users with broswer choice. At that point, the EU opened a probe into Microsoft's behavior.

Microsoft admitted quickly it had failed to … Read more

Windows 8 gets 'browser ballot' amid EU antitrust probe

Microsoft is pushing out an update to Windows 8 users to enable the "browser ballot" screen, even though the forthcoming operating system's release date is set for over a month away.

Windows 8 users in Europe are now given the choice of which browser -- including Microsoft's own Internet Explorer -- they wish to install.

The Windows Update-offered patch provides a Windows 8 "tiled" (formerly known as "Metro") application, which offers a range of third-party browsers, such as Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Maxthon 3, and Opera, along with Internet Explorer to be … Read more