This is a rundown of last week’s news updates on Antitrust:
Google loses $2.8 billion as antitrust fine to EU Court
The Luxembourg-based EU General Court has dismissed tech giant Google’s effort to appeal a $2.8 billion antitrust fine for favouring its own shopping services in search results. The European Commission fined Google in 2017 for breaking competition laws. In addition to the fine, Google was ordered in 2017 to make modifications to the way it presents shopping search results, to allow competitors to take advantage of ad space on search sites.
Delhi HC gives two weeks to CCI to decide on Amazon case
The Competition Commission of India, the country’s antitrust regulator, has been directed by the Delhi High Court to determine within two weeks if Amazon deceived regulators while seeking clearance for a 2019 deal with India’s Future Group. Since last year, Amazon and Future, India’s second-largest retailer, have been involved in a legal dispute. Future has been arguing before the Competition Commission of India (CCI) that Amazon had obtained approval for a 2019 deal by making deliberate misrepresentations and thus, that the deal should be cancelled.
Lawsuit against Google for unfair practices in ad business
A coalition of states led by Texas has filed an amended complaint against Alphabet Inc’s Google, accusing the tech giant of employing coercion and breaching antitrust rules in its efforts to expand its already powerful advertising business. Alphabet’s business has been attacked for using related tactics to increase its ad market dominance. The new charges are the latest in a string of regulatory investigations into Google’s business operations, and purportedly include further specifics regarding Google’s alleged attempts to stifle competition.
Suit against Apple for monopolization of iOS app distribution
Apple Inc. is accused of violating federal and state competition rules by monopolising the worldwide distribution market for Apple operating system (iOS) software, according to a lawsuit filed last Friday in the Northern District of California. The filing alleges that Apple has charged supra-competitive prices to consumers who have made purchases, including in-app purchases, on apple devices. Furthermore, iOS users are supposedly prohibited from purchasing software programmes from anybody other than Apple. The complaint compares Apple’s phones to its computers, which allow consumers to purchase software from any supplier and pay the software creator or distributor directly, without having to pay Apple anything extra.
Authored by Rohan Joshua Jacob (Associate) and Anjali Shekhawat (Intern).
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