Tag Archives: antitrust

The New York Times reports: Google acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in some online advertising technology, a federal judge ruled on Thursday, adding to legal troubles that could reshape the $1.88 trillion company and alter its power over the internet. Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia said in a ruling that …

Axios reports: The Federal Trade Commission and Meta will square off in a long-awaited antitrust trial on Monday over the tech giant’s past acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram. The trial will be a major test of the FTC’s ability to take on tech behemoths for allegedly breaking antitrust law and comes as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg tries to cozy up …

The New York Times reports: The grocery chain Albertsons said on Wednesday that it had backed out of its $25 billion merger with Kroger and sued its rival for failing to adequately push for regulatory approval, after both a federal and state judge blocked the deal on Tuesday. The deal, which would have been the biggest grocery store merger in …

Bloomberg News reports: The US Justice Department sued Visa Inc. Tuesday, alleging the global payments giant illegally monopolized the debit card market, in the Biden administration’s first major antitrust case in the financial services industry. Antitrust enforcers alleged in a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court that Visa, which handles more than 60% of US debit transactions, entered into a …

CNBC reports: The Department of Justice and eight states on Friday accused software company RealPage of unlawfully scheming to undermine competition among landlords and create a monopoly that harms millions of renters. RealPage “allows landlords to manipulate, distort, and subvert market forces,” the Justice Department said in a civil complaint in U.S. District Court in North Carolina. “At bottom, RealPage …

Reuters reports: Alphabet’s Google broke the law with its monopoly over online searches and related ads, a federal judge ruled on Monday, in the U.S. Justice Department’s first victory against a monopoly in more than 20 years. The decision is a significant win for the Justice Department, which had sued the search engine giant over its control of about 90% …

CBS News reports: The Justice Department is set to file an antitrust lawsuit against entertainment conglomerate Live Nation as early as Thursday, multiple sources familiar with the matter confirmed to CBS News. The federal government will be joined in its legal challenge by several state attorneys general. Prosecutors are expected to challenge the Ticketmaster parent company’s practices and could seek …

Axios reports: The Department of Justice (DOJ) is planning to sue Live Nation, one of the largest ticketing and live events companies in the country, on antitrust grounds, a regulatory source familiar with the DOJ’s plans told Axios. The company faced intense scrutiny from lawmakers and consumer advocacy groups over botched ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in late …

Bloomberg News reports: The US Justice Department is preparing to announce an antitrust lawsuit against Apple Inc. Thursday, according to two people familiar with the matter The suit is expected to be filed in federal court in New Jersey, said one of the people. The US is accusing Apple, the world’s second-most-valuable tech company, of violating antitrust laws by blocking …

Bloomberg News reports: Apple Inc. was hit Monday with a €1.8 billion ($2 billion) penalty from the European Union over an investigation into allegations it shut out music-streaming rivals, including Spotify Technology SA, on its platforms. The European Commission also ordered the Cupertino, California-based firm to stop preventing music-streaming apps from informing users of cheaper deals away from Apple’s App …

CBS News reports: The Federal Trade Commission on Monday sued to block a proposed merger between grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons, saying the $24.6 billion deal could result in higher prices for millions of American consumers. The FTC filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Oregon, alleging that the deal is anticompetitive and could harm shoppers by boosting prices …

Axios reports: Amazon and Roomba maker iRobot on Monday said that they’ll terminate their $1.4 billion merger agreement, due to opposition from European antitrust regulators. This is the first time Amazon has ever been stopped from buying another company. The deal originally was announced in mid-2022 with a $1.7 billion price-tag, with Amazon hoping to expand a smart home device …

Bloomberg Law reports: General Mills Inc., a Kraft Heinz Co. unit, Kellogg Co., and Nestle SA for years likely overpaid for eggs because the nation’s largest producers and two trade groups conspired to restrict the supply, an Illinois federal jury decided on Tuesday. A US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois jury of nine men and three women …

The Washington Post reports: The Federal Trade Commission and 17 state attorneys general filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Amazon Tuesday, a long-awaited move that seeks to bar the company from allegedly abusing its powers to raise prices for shoppers and levy high fees against businesses that sell on its platform. The FTC alleges that Amazon engages in illegal behavior …

The Associated Press reports: Kroger and Albertsons will sell more than 400 stores and other assets for about $1.9 billion, seeking to clear a path for a merger with antitrust regulators reviewing a deal that would unify two of the nation’s largest grocery chains. The 413 stores are being sold to to C&S Wholesale Grocers. The grocery chains say they …

Reuters reports: The U.S. Department of Justice is expected to file an antitrust lawsuit to block JetBlue Airways Corp’s $3.8 billion takeover of low-cost rival Spirit Airlines as soon as Tuesday, Bloomberg News reported on Monday. The Department of Transportation, which is also reviewing the deal, is expected to take parallel action to stop the planned transaction, Bloomberg said. JetBlue …

The Wall Street Journal reports: The Federal Trade Commission is preparing a potential antitrust lawsuit against Amazon that in the coming months could challenge an array of the tech giant’s business practices as anticompetitive, according to people familiar with the matter. The commission in recent years has been examining Amazon practices including whether it favors its own products over competitors’ …

Bloomberg Law reports: The US Justice Department and eight states sued Alphabet Inc.’s Google, calling for the break up of the search giant’s ad-technology business over alleged illegal monopolization of the digital advertising market. “Google abuses its monopoly power to disadvantage website publishers and advertisers who dare to use competing ad tech products in a search for higher quality, or …

Bloomberg News reports: To defend itself against the federal government, Meta Platforms Inc. says it needs its rivals to divulge some of their most closely held secrets. Facebook’s parent company has so far subpoenaed 132 companies for documents, including Snap Inc., ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok and the audio startup Clubhouse, and has warned that it may seek information from 100 more. …

Politico reports: The Federal Trade Commission has filed a new antitrust complaint against Facebook, rebooting a high-stakes case to break up the social media giant after a federal judge tossed the agency’s original complaint in June. Progressive FTC Chair Lina Khan joined with her two Democratic colleagues in a 3-2 party-line vote Wednesday to file the new complaint. The agency’s …