antitrust

Google has become the first company to be designated with “strategic market status” by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, exposing its online search and advertising business to closer scrutiny.

The DOJ is seeking to break up Google’s advertising technology monopoly in the remedy phase of the government’s ad tech antitrust trial set to begin Monday in Virginia federal court. Google survived the previous Search antitrust trial with a slap on the wrist — a far cry from the forced sale of Chrome and other remedies the government sought.

Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater said during a speech on Thursday that America First Antitrust can be used to ensure free information flows in American democracy and that artificial intelligence (AI) remains free of viewpoint bias.

Fired DOJ antitrust official Roger Alford has been portraying himself as a “genuine MAGA reformer” who supported “President Trump’s populist conservative agenda,” which he claims was undermined by “MAGA In Name Only” lobbyists. However, he recently appeared on a podcast to attack the Trump FCC and FTC for going after DEI and censorship.

Although Google is being considered a major winner this week following a federal district court judge’s antitrust ruling that analysts are calling a “slap on the wrist,” Apple has emerged from the trial as another big winner. Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google can continue its lucrative search deals, used to lock it in as the default search engines for devices, including a $20 billion annual payment to Apple. 

Newsmax filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against Fox News, claiming that the conservative news network has monopolized the conservative news market and abused its power.

The judge in the Google Search antitrust case has ruled against the government’s proposals to break up the tech giant, including a forced sale of its Chrome browser. The ruling also allows Google to maintain its massive $20 billion deal with Apple, although the tech giant will be forced to end exclusive distribution contacts. Both the Big Tech Masters of the Universe and the stock market are celebrating the decision as a massive win for Google.

Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI has filed a lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI, accusing the two companies of engaging in an “anticompetitive scheme” to hinder the growth of rival AI companies.

Google’s monopoly over the search market may soon be unwound, as the judge in the long-running search antitrust case is poised to issue a ruling that could force the tech giant to sell off key assets including the Chrome browser.

Democrats and the anti-Trump media are falsely claiming the Trump antitrust team has abandoned “MAGA antitrust” because of a few mundane approvals of mergers that Joe Biden’s political appointees and career staff opposed.

Justice Department Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater recently helped secure two victories to ensure competition in health care and housing.

The Trump antitrust team is launching an aggressive effort to dismantle what analysts are calling a “lawfare legacy” left behind by the Biden White House — a flurry of ideologically motivated lawsuits rushed out the door in its final weeks.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division will submit a statement of interest in an antitrust case alleging that big tech and big media organizations colluded to censor an organization founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Breitbart News has learned exclusively.

Privacy-focused software provider Proton has filed a lawsuit against Apple, alleging the iPhone maker engages in anticompetitive practices and charges excessive fees in its App Store.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew Ferguson on Monday announced that, as part of the FTC’s approval of a merger between two of the largest advertising companies, the advertising giants agreed not to collude or discriminate based on political or ideological viewpoints.

A group of prominent lawyers with close ties to Big Tech companies are urging the federal judge presiding over the Google search antitrust case to exercise caution when imposing remedies against Google’s online monopoly.

The future of Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is in a federal judge’s hands following the conclusion of a seven-week antitrust trial brought forth by FTC.

House conservatives have urged appropriations leaders to back a change in the next funding bill that would give the Justice Department Antitrust Division a “fighting chance” and have it remain as the top “watchdog” for antitrust and anticompetitive practices.

The ongoing remedy phase of Google’s search antitrust trial has revealed how the internet giant used its stranglehold over internet search to strongarm publishers on the controversial topic of AI training. Internal documents show Google considering giving publishers an opt out on AI training before deciding to force publishers to feed their insatiable AI machine.

Prominent attorney David Boies has joined the legal team representing video platform Rumble in its multibillion-dollar antitrust case against Google, further escalating a legal battle that alleges the tech giant unfairly stifled YouTube’s competitors in the online video space.

The FTC has lost its appeal of a ruling in its case against Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of gaming giant Activision Blizzard.

Apple Senior Vice President of Services Eddy Cue defended the company’s $20 billion a year deal with search monopoly Google during the remedy phase of the internet giant’s antitrust trial in Washington, DC. Cue also testified that rapid advancements in AI could disrupt Google’s search monopoly more effectively than court intervention.

Google’s search chief, Elizabeth Reid, testified that the DOJ’s proposed changes to the company’s search practices could “deeply undermine user trust” and slow down innovation in the search industry. This claim comes after the company censored conservatives on its search engine throughout the Trump era — which clearly undermined user trust in the company.

As the September trial date approaches for the next phase of the DOJ’s antitrust case against Google’s ad tech practices, both sides have outlined their proposed remedies to address the tech giant’s monopoly over digital advertising.

In a federal court hearing on Wednesday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai argued that the government’s proposed measures to address the company’s illegal monopoly in online search would severely impact its ability to innovate and invest in new technologies.

In a significant legal setback for Apple, a federal judge has blasted the tech giant and CEO Tim Cook for “willfully violating” her previously issued injunction in the long-running App Store antitrust case. Now, the judge has ordered Apple to stop collecting massive fees on payments made outside the App Store.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai is set to take the stand on Wednesday morning in the remedy phase of the internet giant’s search monopoly trial to defend his company from changes that could fundamentally reshape the internet landscape.

Justice Department Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater during a speech at Notre Dame Law School on Monday detailed the case against big tech, saying that the Trump administration’s “America First Antitrust” is about empowering “America’s forgotten men and women.”

As the remedy phase of the Google search monopoly case continues, a witness from AI startup Perplexity testified that the search giant’s exclusivity contracts prevented smartphone maker Motorola from setting Perplexity AI as the default assistant on its new devices. The AI executive says Google’s exclusive agreements are like a “gun to your head” from the perspective of device makers.

Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom testified as part of the FTC’s antitrust case against Meta, saying Mark Zuckerberg saw Instagram as a threat to Facebook and therefore starved his photo-sharing app of resources after acquiring it more than a decade ago.

As the remedy phase of Google’s search monopoly antitrust trial unfolds, AI giant OpenAI has emerged as a potential buyer for Google’s Chrome browser, with plans to transform it into an AI-centric experience.

European Union watchdogs fined Apple and Meta hundreds of millions of euros Wednesday as they stepped up enforcement of the 27-nation bloc’s digital competition rules.

The remedies trial to address Google’s search monopoly verdict began Monday in Washington, D.C., with the company arguing that a breakup proposed by the DOJ would put the United States at a disadvantage in the global race for technological supremacy, particularly against China.

Google will square off against the DOJ and dozens of state attorneys general in a high-stakes remedy phase to the search antitrust case it lost last year. The remedy phase kicking off today could result in the tech giant being forced to sell off key assets.

Google has been found guilty of antitrust violations in the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets, marking the second time the tech giant has been ruled a monopolist within a year. Google is expected to appeal the verdict, and the split nature of the decision means a forced breakup action is unlikely.