Big Tech Antitrust Investigations: Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta/Facebook and Microsoft Updates -

Regulators and government officials worldwide continue to closely scrutinize big technology companies -- i.e., "Big Tech" -- amid potential anti-competitive concerns and social concerns. In a September 2022 meeting at the White House, experts outlined six areas of concern associated with Big Tech. They included:

Competition;
privacy;
youth mental health;
misinformation and disinformation;
illegal and abusive conduct, including sexual exploitation; and
algorithmic discrimination and lack of transparency.

Note: This blog tracks those issues and more. Blog originally published July 27, 2020. Updated regularly thereafter.

Here's a look at Big Tech companies and the scrutiny they face... Amazon: Multiple updates...

CEO Jeff Bezos will make his first-ever appearance before Congress on July 29. In recent years, Bezos has granted few extended interviews to journalists and has seldom faced the kind of adversarial questions he is likely to get from lawmakers on the House Antitrust Subcommittee. He is set to testify via videoconference alongside CEOs from Apple Inc., Google parent Alphabet Inc. and Facebook Inc. Source: The Wall Street Journal, July 27, 2020.
Here's a transcript of what Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos plans to tell the U.S. House of Representatives during a congressional hearing on antitrust concerns. Source: ChannelE2E, July 29, 2020.
As Apple and Amazon.com worked toward a high-profile distribution deal at least a couple of years ago, one proposal on the table was for Apple to have “competing ads removed from search” results on Amazon, according to documents released from a U.S. House of Representatives investigation. Source: Reuters, July 29, 2020.
Attorneys general from New York and California are partnering with the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Amazon.com Inc.’s online marketplace, according to people familiar with the matter. Source: Bloomberg, August 3, 2020.
Canada’s competition regulator is looking into Amazon over concerns the e-shopping giant’s practices hurt local companies and consumers. Source: Bloomberg, August 14, 2020.
A group of more than 2,000 online sellers has filed an antitrust case against Amazon in India, alleging the U.S. company favors some retailers whose online discounts drive independent vendors out of business. Source: Reuters, August 26, 2020.
Amazon has become the European Union's latest Big Tech target as regulators escalated a case into how it uses rivals’ sales data on its platform and added a new probe into whether it unfairly favors its own products. Source: Bloomberg, November 10, 2020.
Amazon will raise fees for Spanish companies using its platform by 3% from April after the government imposed a digital tax, a company document reveals. Source: Reuters, January 22, 2021.
Amazon has failed to comply with workplace safety rules during the pandemic and retaliated against warehouse workers who raised concerns, New York alleged in a lawsuit against the retail giant. Source: Bloomberg, February 16, 2021.
Amazon documents reveal the company's secret strategy to dodge India's regulators. Source: Reuters, February 17, 2021.
Amazon’s workers in Italy will go on a 24-hour strike on March 22 after negotiations with the U.S. online giant over working conditions broke down, trade unions said. Source: Reuters, March 11, 2021.
The trade union Verdi has called for workers at six Amazon sites in Germany to go on strike from March 28, 2021, evening for four days in the latest attempt to try to force the U.S. e-commerce group to recognize collective bargaining agreements. Source: Reuters, March 28, 2021.
A group called Small Business Rising has formed to promote stronger antitrust laws while also pushing legislators to break up Amazon. Small Business Rising's goals are outlined here. Source: Small Business Rising, April 6, 2021.
In a letter to shareholders, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos conceded that the company has todo "a better job for our employees." The letter surfaces a few days after Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama voted against forming a union. Still, Bezos says Amazon needs a "better vision for how we create value for employees." Source: Amazon, April 15, 2021.
Europe's second-highest court will rule on May 12, 2021, on Amazon's appeal of an EU order to pay about 250 million euros ($300.5 million) in back taxes to Luxembourg. Source: Reuters, May 3, 2021.
The UK's competition regulator, known as the Competition and Markets Authority, plans to probe into Amazon's use of data. Source: Financial Times, June 10, 2021.
A European Union privacy regulator has proposed a fine of more than $425 million against Amazon, part of a process that could yield the biggest-yet penalty under the EU's privacy law. Source: The Wall Street Journal, June 10, 2021.
An Indian court dismissed pleas by Amazon.com and Walmart's Flipkart to quash an antitrust investigation, more than a year after the probe was put on hold after legal challenges by the companies. Source: Reuters, June 11, 2021.
Executives from Google and Amazon will head the list of witnesses for a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee the week of June 14, 2021, along with an executive from speaker maker Sonos -- which has been critical of the two tech giants. Source: Reuters, June 11, 2021.
Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart must face antitrust investigations ordered against them in India, the country's Supreme Court ruled, in a blow to the leading e-commerce giants which had urged judges to quash the inquiries. Source: Reuters, August 9, 2021.
The city of Washington, D.C., has broadened its antitrust lawsuit against Amazon to challenge the online retailer's agreements with wholesalers as well as third-party sellers. Source: Reuters, September 13, 2021.
In a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, members of a congressional committee questioned whether Amazon executives misled them during an investigation of the company’s business practices and if they may have lied under oath. Source: The Wall Street Journal, October 18, 2021.
Italy's antitrust authority has fined Amazon and Apple total of more than 200 million euros ($225 million) for alleged anti-competitive cooperation in the sale of Apple and Beats products. Source: Reuters, November 23, 2021.
Italy's antitrust has fined Amazon 1.13 billion euros ($1.28 billion) for alleged abuse of market dominance, in one of the biggest penalties imposed on a U.S. tech giant in Europe. Source: Reuters, December 9, 2021.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is moving forward with an investigation into AWS over competition issues. Source: Bloomberg, December 22, 2021.
Amazon won dismissal an antitrust lawsuit brought against it by the District of Columbia, which had alleged that the company harmed consumers by blocking sellers on its marketplace from offering better deals elsewhere. Source: The Wall Street Journal, March 18, 2022.
The SEC is investigating how Amazon.com has disclosed some details of its business practices, including how it uses third-party-seller data for its private-label business. Source: The Wall Street Journal, April 6, 2022.
Amazon lambasted a bill in Congress barring tech giants from giving preference to their own businesses on their websites, saying it unfairly singles the retailer out while not subjecting rivals to similar regulations. Source: Reuters, June 1, 2022.
Amazon has offered to refrain from using sellers' data for its own competing retail business and boost the visibility of rival products on its platform, EU regulators said, a move aimed at staving off a possible hefty fine. Source: Reuters, July 14, 2022.
A group known as Competitiveness Coalition is fighting antitrust legislation targeting the biggest US tech companies. The group presents itself as a grassroots advocate for American taxpayers, yet it hasn’t disclosed a significant source of funding from Amazon. Source: Bloomberg, July 14, 2022.
Amazon has proposed concessions to settle two antitrust cases against it in the European Union, a fresh sign of changing strategy from big tech companies after the bloc passed a strict new digital-competition law. Source: The Wall Street Journal reported, July 14, 2022.
Amazon has hired a senior Republican congressional aide -- Judd Smith -- to bolster its efforts to stymie a new antitrust bill aimed at U.S. technology companies. Source: Bloomberg, August 1, 2022.
Amazon faces a UK class-action lawsuit over claims the tech giant uses a “secretive” algorithm to abuse its dominant position in the online marketplace. Source: Bloomberg, October 20, 2022.
Amazon is facing a lawsuit in Britain for damages of up to $1 billion over allegations the online marketplace abused its dominant position by favoring its own products. Source: Reuters, October 20, 2022.
Amazon may be able to end two EU antitrust investigations by the end of 2022 after tweaking concessions to address concerns over its use of sellers' data. Source: Reuters, November 25, 2022.

Apple: Multiple updates...

Multiple U.S. states are investigating Apple for potentially deceiving consumers, according to a March document obtained by a tech watchdog group know as the Tech Transparency Project. Source: Reuters, July 23, 2020.
As Apple and Amazon.com worked toward a high-profile distribution deal at least a couple of years ago, one proposal on the table was for Apple to have “competing ads removed from search” results on Amazon, according to documents released from a U.S. House of Representatives investigation. Source: Reuters, July 29, 2020.
Italy’s antitrust authority has opened an inquiry into Apple, Google and Dropbox over cloud computing services. Source: Reuters, September 7, 2020.
Apple iPhones face scrutiny from Dutch antitrust regulators who are probing whether users get a free choice of financial apps with contactless payments. The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets said it started an investigation into payment apps’ access to near-field communication, which allows people to wave their phones at payment terminals to make purchases. Source: Bloomberg, December 4, 2020.
Apple faces an Italian class-action lawsuit seeking compensation over misleading claims about the battery life of older iPhones. Source: Bloomberg, January 25, 2021.
Britain’s competition regulator has opened an investigation into Apple after complaints that the iPhone maker’s terms and conditions for app developers are unfair and anti-competitive. The probe will consider if Apple has a dominant position in the distribution of apps on its devices in the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said. Source: Reuters, March 4, 2021.
Apple was given a boost as France’s antitrust watchdog rejected advertisers’ requests to suspend the iPhone maker’s upcoming privacy feature, but Apple still faces a probe into whether the company unfairly favors its own products and services. Source: Reuters, March 17, 2021.
Google and Apple's “symbiotic relationship” should get scrutiny from the U.K.’s antitrust regulator, a group of online advertisers said. Source: Bloomberg, March 22, 2021.
Fortnite maker Epic Games has filed a complaint with Britain’s competition regulator in support of its investigation into Apple's alleged anti-competitive behavior. Source: Reuters, March 30, 2021.
Apple Chief Compliance Officer Kyle Andeer has agreed to testify before the U.S. Senate on competition issues related to mobile app stores, days after panel leaders criticized the company for refusing to appear. Google also is expected to testify at the hearing. The testimony is expected April 21, 2021. Source: Reuters, April 11, 2021.
In a thinly veiled attempt to push back against U.S. regulators and anti-trust concerns, Apple says it plans to make $430 billion in U.S. investments over the next five years. Also, Apple claims to be the largest taxpayer in the U.S. and has paid almost $45 billion in domestic corporate income taxes over the past five years alone, the company says. Source: Apple, April 26, 2021.
European Union antitrust regulators are set to charge Apple with blocking rivals on its App Store following a complaint by music streaming service Spotify. Source: Reuters, April 27, 2021.
EU regulators accused Apple of distorting competition in the music streaming market, siding with Spotify in a case that could lead to a hefty fine and changes in the iPhone maker’s lucrative business practices. Source: Reuters, April 30, 2021.
A trial involving Fortnite maker Epic Games vs. Apple could help to determine the future of how apps generate revenue through mobile devices. Epic claims Apple charges exorbitant fees to mobile software developers and runs the App Store in a way that stifles smaller businesses and prohibits fair competition. Source: The Wall Street Journal, May 3, 2021.
Germany's antitrust watchdog, known as the the Federal Cartel Office (FCO), has launched an investigation into whether Apple was exploiting its market dominance, following similar proceedings into U.S. tech rivals Facebook, Amazon and Google. Source: Reuters, June 21, 2021.
Italy's antitrust authority has fined Amazon and Apple total of more than 200 million euros ($225 million) for alleged anti-competitive cooperation in the sale of Apple and Beats products. Source: Reuters, November 23, 2021.
The Netherlands' top competition regulator said Apple broke the country's competition laws and ordered changes to the iPhone maker's App Store payment policies. Source: Reuters, December 24, 2021.
The Dutch antitrust watchdog said it is studying whether a new round of changes Apple has announced to its App Store terms and conditions in the Netherlands will bring it into compliance with national law. Source: Reuters, February 7, 2022.
Apple faces an additional EU antitrust charge in the coming weeks in an investigation triggered by a complaint from Spotify. Source: Reuters, April 11, 2022.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said that pending legislation in the U.S. and Europe would negatively impact privacy and security for iPhone users. Cook alleges that sideloading apps onto iPhones could lead to situations where malware is unknowingly downloaded onto the iPhone and user data is stolen. Source: SeekingAlpha, April 12, 2022.
EU antitrust regulators charged Apple with restricting rivals' access to its NFC chip technology in a move that could result in a hefty fine for the iPhone maker and force it to open its mobile payment system to competitors. Source: Reuters, May 2, 2022.
Justice Department lawyers are in the early stages of drafting a potential antitrust complaint against Apple, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter — a sign that a long-running investigation may be nearing a decision point and a suit could be coming soon. Source: Politico, August 26, 2022.
Britain's competition watchdog launched an in-depth investigation into the dominance of the mobile browsers of Apple and Google. Source: Reuters, November 22, 2022.

Australia: Multiple updates...

Australia’s competition regulator on July 27, 2020, accused Alphabet’s Google of misleading consumers to get permission for use of their personal data for targeted advertising, seeking a fine “in the millions” and aiming to establish a precedent. Source: Reuters, July 26, 2020.
Australia’s government has ordered Facebook and Alphabet's Google to share revenue generated from news articles, adding to growing global regulatory and political pushback against the digital giants. Source: Bloomberg, July 30, 2020.
Google said it would block its search engine in Australia if the government proceeds with a new code that would force Google and Facebook to pay media companies for the right to use their content. Source: Reuters, January 21, 2021.
Australia claimed an early win in a protracted licensing battle with Google as media companies lined up to announce content deals with the internet giant that were reportedly far more lucrative than their global rivals. Source: Reuters, February 17, 2021.
Facebook faced an angry backlash after blocking news feeds in Australia in a surprise escalation of a dispute with the government which could be a test for the future of online publishing worldwide. Source: Reuters, February 17, 2021.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison vowed to press ahead with laws to force Facebook Inc to pay news outlets for content, saying he had received support from world leaders after the social media giant blacked out all media. Source: Reuters, February 18, 2021.
Google misled some consumers about personal location data collected through Android mobile devices, Australia's competition regulator said. Source: Reuters, April 16, 2021.
U.S. lawmakers determined to tighten antitrust laws said that a judge's decision giving only a partial victory to "Fortnite" creator Epic Games in its fight with Apple was further evidence of the need for new laws to limit Big Tech. Source: Reuters, September 10, 2021.
A U.S. judge stopped short of labeling Apple an "illegal monopolist", but the closely-watched ruling provides a roadmap for similar claims against the iPhone maker in the future, legal experts said. Source: Reuters, September 10, 2021.
An Australian regulator sent legal letters to Facebook owner Meta Platforms, Apple and Microsoft -- demanding they share their strategies for stamping out child abuse material on their platforms or face fines. Source: Reuters, August 30, 2022.

Canada: The country's competition regulator is looking into Amazon over concerns the e-shopping giant’s practices hurt local companies and consumers. Source: Bloomberg, August 14, 2020.

China: China is preparing to launch an antitrust probe into Alphabet Google, looking into allegations it has leveraged the dominance of its Android mobile operating system to stifle competition. Source: Reuters, September 30, 2020.

European Union: Multiple updates...

Microsoft may find itself in EU antitrust regulators’ crosshairs yet again after U.S. workspace messaging app Slack Technologies complained about the company embedding its workplace chat and video app Teams in its Office product. Source: Reuters, July 22, 2020.
Facebook is suing European Union (EU) antitrust regulators for seeking information beyond what is necessary, including highly personal details, for their investigations into the company’s data and marketplace, the U.S. social media group said. Source: Reuters, July 27, 2020.
The European Union wants to arm itself with new powers to penalize big technology companies, the Financial Times reported. The proposed plan includes forcing tech giants to break up or sell some of their European operations if their market dominance is deemed to threaten the interests of customers and smaller rivals, the newspaper said. Source: Reuters, September 20, 2020.
Technology firms' compliance with European restrictions on transatlantic data transfers is shockingly poor, Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems said, publishing a survey here of companies including Facebook and Netflix. Source: Reuters, September 28, 2020.
Alphabet unit Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple and other U.S. tech giants could be banned from favoring their services or forcing users to sign up to a bundle of services under draft EU rules aimed at reining in their power. Source: Reuters, September 30, 2020.
European Union regulators are making a 'hit list' of up to 20 large internet companies, potentially including Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Alphabet's Google, that will be facing new and tougher rules aimed at curbing their market power, the Financial Times reported. Source: Reuters, October 11, 2020.
Amazon has become the European Union's latest Big Tech target as regulators escalated a case into how it uses rivals’ sales data on its platform and added a new probe into whether it unfairly favors its own products. Source: Bloomberg, November 10, 2020.
A group of 165 companies and industry bodies have called on EU antitrust enforcers to take a tougher line against Google, saying the U.S. tech giant unfairly favours its own services on its web searches. Source: Reuters, November 12, 2020.
Technology companies’ services could be banned from the European market if they do not heed EU regulation, Europe’s industry chief Thierry Breton said. Breton will announce new draft rules known as the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act together with European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager on Dec. 2. Source: Reuters, November 15, 2020.
A video call between the European Union's digital chief and Alphabet (Google), Apple, Amazon, and Facebook to discuss draft rules to curb their powers has been postponed until December 2, 2020, an EU official said. Source: Reuters, November 20, 2020.
Google and digital advertising firms are the targets of fresh privacy complaints filed in six EU countries over the way they sell ads to potential advertisers through a bidding process. Source: Reuters, December 10, 2020.
Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Alphabet unit Google may have to change their business practices in Europe or face hefty fines between 6-10% under new draft EU rules. Source: Reuters, December 15, 2020.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai will hold a video-conference call with EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager on January 25, 2021, according to a European Commission schedule published on January 22, 2021. Source: Reuters, January 22, 2021.
European Union antitrust regulators are set to charge Apple with blocking rivals on its App Store following a complaint by music streaming service Spotify. Source: Reuters, April 27, 2021.
Europe and Britain launched formal antitrust investigations into Facebook to determine if the world's largest social network is using customers' data to unfairly compete with advertisers, in a new threat to its business model. Source: Reuters, June 4, 2021.
A European Union privacy regulator has proposed a fine of more than $425 million against Amazon, part of a process that could yield the biggest-yet penalty under the EU's privacy law. Source: The Wall Street Journal, June 10, 2021.
Facebook and other Silicon Valley giants could face more scrutiny and potential sanctions, according to a ruling by the European Union Court of Justice (CJEU). Source: Reuters, June 15, 2021.
EU regulators opened an investigation into Google's lucrative digital advertising business to examine whether it favors Google's own business over rivals, advertisers and online publishers. Source: Reuters, June 22, 2021.
EU antitrust regulators have extended the deadline for a decision on Facebook's acquisition of U.S. customer service startup Kustomer by a week to Dec. 15, a European Commission filing showed. Source: Reuters, August 9, 2021.
Google blasted EU antitrust regulators for ignoring rival Apple as it launched a bid to get Europe's second-highest court to annul a record $5.1 billion fine related to its Android operating system. Source: Reuters, September 27, 2021.
DuckDuckGo and three other search engine rivals to Google urged EU lawmakers to take action against Google unit via new tech rules, saying they have yet to see positive results from an antitrust ruling against Google. Source: Reuters, October 7, 2021.
EU antitrust regulators are following up on a complaint by Slack Technologies by asking Microsoft's rivals if its Teams app integrated with its Office product gives it greater clout, in a sign that they could open an investigation. Source: Reuters, October 8, 2021.
Draft EU rules to curb the power of Amazon, Apple, Alphabet unit Google and Facebook should also tackle providers of cloud computing services for possible anti-competitive practices, a study asserted. Source: Reuters, October 26, 2021.
EU's antitrust regulator is taking a deeper look into Microsoft's $16 billion deal for transcription technology company Nuance Communications. asking customers and competitors to draw up a list of concerns. Source: Reuters, December 7, 2021.
Landmark European rules targeting Alphabet unit Google, Amazon, Apple, Meta (Facebook) and Microsoft are likely to set a global benchmark and may even force the tech giants to be more innovative, lawyers and experts said. Source: Reuters, March 25, 2022.
EU antitrust regulators are quizzing Microsoft' rivals and customers about its cloud business and licensing deals, in a move that could lead to a formal investigation and renewed scrutiny of the U.S. software company. Source: Reuters, April 1, 2022.
Major online platforms face a yearly fee up to 0.1% of annual net income to cover the costs of monitoring compliance with new European Union rules requiring them to do more to police their content. Source: Reuters, April 5, 2022.
Apple faces an additional EU antitrust charge in the coming weeks in an investigation triggered by a complaint from Spotify. Source: Reuters, April 11, 2022.
A detailed story from Bloomberg reinforces U.S. and European antitrust concerns about Microsoft's cloud computing business practices. Source: Bloomberg, April 12, 2022.
EU antitrust regulators charged Apple with restricting rivals' access to its NFC chip technology in a move that could result in a hefty fine for the iPhone maker and force it to open its mobile payment system to competitors. Source: Reuters, May 2, 2022.
Google urged Europe's second-highest court to dismiss a 1.49-billion-euro ($1.6 billion) fine imposed by EU antitrust regulators three years ago for hindering rivals in online search advertising. Source: Reuters, May 2, 2022.
Europe's antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager called for a global approach towards Big Tech to prevent companies from taking advantage of enforcement gaps. Vestager, who has handed out billions of euros in fines to Alphabet's Google and launched investigations into Apple, Amazon and Meta Platform's Facebook, said there was global agreement on the issues raised by large digital platforms. Source: Reuters, May 5, 2022.
Microsoft will revise its licensing deals and make it easier for cloud service providers to compete, as the U.S. software giant sought to dodge a lengthy EU antitrust probe into its cloud computing business, Reuters reported.
Amazon has offered to refrain from using sellers' data for its own competing retail business and boost the visibility of rival products on its platform, EU regulators said, a move aimed at staving off a possible hefty fine. Source: Reuters, July 14, 2022.
Amazon has proposed concessions to settle two antitrust cases against it in the European Union, a fresh sign of changing strategy from big tech companies after the bloc passed a strict new digital-competition law. Source: The Wall Street Journal reported, July 14, 2022.
European Union antitrust regulators have asked app developers whether Google's Play Store policies have hurt their business. Source: Reuters, August 4, 2022.
Microsoft will revise its cloud licensing deals on October 1 to address EU antitrust regulator concerns. Sources: Microsoft and Reuters, August 29, 2022.
More than 40 European rivals to Google's shopping service urged EU antitrust regulators to use newly adopted tech rules to ensure the Alphabet unit complies with a 2017 EU order to allow more competition on its search page. Source: Reuters, October 17, 2022.
AWS and OVH sent an antitrust complaint against Microsoft to the European Union, alleging the Microsoft Cloud has unfair licensing practices. Source: Bloomberg, November 8, 2022.
Microsoft may have to offer concessions to address EU antitrust concerns about its $69 billion bid for "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard after regulators opened a full-scale investigation and warned about the impact of the deal. Source: Reuters, November 8, 2022.
Microsoft is likely to face an EU antitrust investigation as regulators intensify their scrutiny into its practices in a case triggered by Salesforce.com's workspace messaging app Slack. Source: Reuters, November 24, 2022.
Amazon may be able to end two EU antitrust investigations by the end of 2022 after tweaking concessions to address concerns over its use of sellers' data. Source: Reuters, November 25, 2022.

Visit page two for anti-trust updates involving Facebook, France, Germany, Google/Alphabet, India, Italy, Japan, Microsoft, Netflix, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Welcome to page two, featuring anti-trust updates involving Facebook (Meta), France, Germany, Google/Alphabet, India, Italy, Japan, Microsoft, Netflix, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Facebook and Meta: Multiple updates...

Regulation intended to address the news industry’s problems with Google and Facebook could have adverse consequences, said outgoing New York Times Chief Executive Officer Mark Thompson in an interview. Source: Reuters, July 23, 2020.
Facebook is suing European Union (EU) antitrust regulators for seeking information beyond what is necessary, including highly personal details, for their investigations into the company’s data and marketplace, the U.S. social media group said. Source: Reuters, July 27, 2020.
Facebook has won the first round of its court battle against what it says are excessive demands from European Union antitrust regulators after Europe’s second-top court temporarily halted such requests until it makes a final ruling. Source: Reuters, July 28, 2020.
Here's a transcript of what Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to say during a congressional hearing focused on Big Tech antitrust concerns. Source: ChannelE2E, July 29, 2020.
Google and Facebook took particularly sharp jabs for alleged abuse of their market power from Democrats and Republicans in a much-anticipated congressional hearing that put four of America’s most prominent tech CEOs in the hot seat. Source: Reuters, July 29, 2020.
Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg stumbled at a congressional hearing on alleged abuse of market power, as lawmakers confronted the social media titan with damaging internal emails about the company’s acquisitions. Source: Reuters, July 29, 2020.
Technology firms' compliance with European restrictions on transatlantic data transfers is shockingly poor, Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems said, publishing a survey here of companies including Facebook and Netflix. Source: Reuters, September 28, 2020.
A government effort to break up Facebook from Instagram and WhatsApp would defy established law, cost billions of dollars and harm consumers, according to a paper company lawyers have prepared in the wake of rising antitrust legal threats. Source: The Wall Street Journal, October 4, 2020.
Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Republican and a tough critic of the big tech companies, urged the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday to interview some former employees of Facebook as part of its probe of the social media giant. Both the FTC and groups of state attorneys general are widely believed to be planning litigation against Facebook for breaking antitrust law. Source: Reuters, November 12, 2020.
A group of U.S. states led by New York is investigating Facebook for possible antitrust violations and plans to file a lawsuit against the social media giant the week of December 7, 2020. Source: Reuters, December 2, 2020.
The U.S. Justice Department accused Facebook of discriminating against U.S. workers, saying in a new lawsuit the social media giant has given hiring preferences to temporary workers, including those who hold H-1B visas. Source: Reuters, December 3, 2020.
Facebook could be forced to sell WhatsApp and Instagram after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and nearly every U.S. state filed lawsuits against the social media company. The lawsuits claim Facebook used a “buy or bury” strategy to snap up rivals and keep smaller competitors at bay. Source: Reuters, December 9, 2020.
Texas and nine other states sued Google, accusing it of working with Facebook in an unlawful manner that violated antitrust law to boost its already-dominant online advertising business. Source: Reuters, December 16, 2020.
Facebook and Google agreed to “cooperate and assist one another” if they ever faced an investigation into their pact to work together in online advertising, according to an unredacted version of a lawsuit filed by 10 states against Google last week. Source: The Wall Street Journal, December 22, 2020.
Facebook is facing a second London High Court class action over allegations it failed to protect the personal details of about one million people in England and Wales, in the latest lawsuit to spring from a scandal over data harvesting. Source: Reuters, February 9, 2021.
Italy’s competition watchdog has fined Facebook 7 million euros ($8.5 million) for not complying with a request to correct improper commercial practices in its treatment of user data. Source: Reuters, February 16, 2021.
Facebook faced an angry backlash after blocking news feeds in Australia in a surprise escalation of a dispute with the government which could be a test for the future of online publishing worldwide. Source: Reuters, February 17, 2021.
Facebook, following in Google's footsteps, says it plans to invest $1 billion to "support the news industry” over the next three years. The move comes amid complaints that the Facebook and Google business models consume and share content without paying content creators -- thereby pressuring traditional media businesses. Source: Associated Press, February 24, 2021.
Ireland's data regulator has given Facebook six weeks to respond to an investigation that may trigger a ban on the social media giant's transatlantic data transfers following a High Court ruling that the probe could resume. Source: Reuters, May 21, 2021.
Europe and Britain launched formal antitrust investigations into Facebook to determine if the world's largest social network is using customers' data to unfairly compete with advertisers, in a new threat to its business model. Source: Reuters, June 4, 2021.
EU antitrust regulators have extended the deadline for a decision on Facebook's acquisition of U.S. customer service startup Kustomer by a week to Dec. 15, a European Commission filing showed. Source: Reuters, August 9, 2021.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) refreshed its antitrust case against Facebook, adding more detail on the accusation the social media company crushed or bought rivals and once again asking a judge to force the social media giant to sell Instagram and WhatsApp. Source: Reuters, August 19, 2021.
The White House said more needs to be done and reforms should happen given privacy and trust concerns raised about Facebook. Source: Reuters, October 6, 2021.
Britain's competition regulator has fined Facebook 50.5 million pounds ($69.6 million) for breaching an order imposed during its investigation into the U.S. social media giant's purchase of GIF platform Giphy. Source: Reuters, October 20, 2021.
France's data privacy watchdog CNIL has fined Google a record 150 million euros ($169 million) for making it difficult for internet users to refuse online trackers known as cookies. Meta Platforms' Facebook was also fined 60 million euros for the same reason, the CNIL said. Source: Reuters, January 6, 2022.
Meta Platforms compared searches by EU antitrust regulators to a fishing super trawler as watchdogs investigate the owner of Facebook's data and online marketplace. Source: Reuters, June 1, 2022.

France: Multiple updates...

France’s newly-appointed Environment Minister Barbara Pompili said she would push to pause the development of warehouses used by online businesses such as Amazon, in a possible setback for the e-commerce giant. Source: Reuters, July 23, 2020.
France’s data privacy watchdog has handed out its biggest ever fine of 100 million euros ($121 million) to Google for breaching the country’s rules on online advertising trackers (cookies). Source: Reuters, December 10, 2020.
Google is nearing a settlement of an antitrust case in France. The case alleges the company has abused its power in online advertising. Google is likely to pay a fine and make operational changes. Source: The Wall Street Journal, May 27, 2021.
Google agreed to change some of its online advertising services under an unprecedented settlement with France's antitrust watchdog. The watchdog also find Google $267.48 million after a probe found the search giant abused its market power in the intricate ad business online. Source: Reuters, June 7, 2021.
France's antitrust watchdog slapped a 500 million euro ($593 million) fine on Alphabet's Google for failing to comply with the regulator's orders on how to conduct talks with the country's news publishers in a row over copyright. Source: Reuters, July 13, 2021.
France's data privacy watchdog CNIL has fined Google a record 150 million euros ($169 million) for making it difficult for internet users to refuse online trackers known as cookies. Meta Platforms' Facebook was also fined 60 million euros for the same reason, the CNIL said. Source: Reuters, January 6, 2022.

Germany: Multiple Update...

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet approved draft digital antitrust legislation that will give German authorities more tools to combat market abuse by large tech companies. The law, which has yet to be approved by parliament, would expand the powers of the Federal Cartel Office to regulate companies that dominate the Internet economy. The proposed rules would allow the German antitrust regulator to step in if marketplace platforms use the data they collect from smaller businesses through their site to undercut competitors. Source: Bloomberg, September 9, 2020.
The trade union Verdi has called for workers at six Amazon sites in Germany to go on strike from March 28, 2021, evening for four days in the latest attempt to try to force the U.S. e-commerce group to recognize collective bargaining agreements. Source: Reuters, March 28, 2021.
Germany's antitrust watchdog has launched a probe into whether Google Germany, Google Ireland and its parent company Alphabet are exploiting their market dominance in the way they handle data. Source: Reuters, May 25, 2021.
Germany's antitrust watchdog, known as the the Federal Cartel Office (FCO), has launched an investigation into whether Apple was exploiting its market dominance, following similar proceedings into U.S. tech rivals Facebook, Amazon and Google. Source: Reuters, June 21, 2021.
Germany’s antitrust regulator believes Google’s business meets the threshold for special abuse control, and paves the way for antitrust interventions. Source: TechCrunch, January 5, 2022.
Germany's cartel office launched an investigation of Google Germany and parent Alphabet over possible anti-competitive restrictions on the Google Maps platform. Source: Reuters, June 21, 2022.

Google and Alphabet: Multiple updates...

Regulation intended to address the news industry’s problems with Google and Facebook could have adverse consequences, said outgoing New York Times Chief Executive Officer Mark Thompson in an interview. Source: Reuters, July 23, 2020.
Australia’s competition regulator on July 27, 2020, accused Alphabet’s Google of misleading consumers to get permission for use of their personal data for targeted advertising, seeking a fine “in the millions” and aiming to establish a precedent. Source: Reuters, July 26, 2020.
The Senate Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel will hold a hearing on September 15 to discuss Google’s dominance in online advertising, Republican Senator Mike Lee said. Source: Reuters, July 27, 2020.
Google and Facebook took particularly sharp jabs for alleged abuse of their market power from Democrats and Republicans in a much-anticipated congressional hearing that put four of America’s most prominent tech CEOs in the hot seat. Source: Reuters, July 29, 2020.
Google’s $2.1 billion bid for fitness tracker maker Fitbit will face a full-scale EU antitrust investigation next week, people familiar with the matter said. Source: Reuters, July 30, 2020.
The U.S. Justice Department is moving “full-tilt” on its antitrust investigation of Alphabet Inc’s Google and other Big Tech platforms. Source: Reuters, August 13, 2020.
Some Justice Department staffers have expressed internal concerns over plans to bring an antitrust lawsuit against Google —and what they view as an aggressive timeline favored by Attorney General William Barr. Source: The Wall Street Journal, August 17, 2020.
The Justice Department, which has been conducting an antitrust investigation of Alphabet Inc.’s Google, plans to bring a lawsuit against Google as soon as this month. The focus remains on search and advertising. Source: Reuters, September 3, 2020.
Italy’s antitrust authority has opened an inquiry into Google, Apple and Dropbox over cloud computing services. Source: Reuters, September 7, 2020.
Alphabet's Google will be questioned about its ad business in a hearing on September 15, 2020, with a particular focus expected on whether it misused its dominance in online advertising to drive profits. Source: Reuters, September 15, 2020.
China is preparing to launch an antitrust probe into Alphabet Google, looking into allegations it has leveraged the dominance of its Android mobile operating system to stifle competition. Source: Reuters, September 30, 2020.
The U.S. Justice Department is expected to sue Alphabet’s Google as soon as the first week of October 202o, and is currently urging state attorneys general to sign onto the lawsuit. Source: Reuters, September 29, 2020.
The U.S. Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet Inc’s Google on October 20, 2020, accusing the company of illegally using its market power to fend off rivals and said nothing was off the table, including a breakup of the internet search and advertising company. Source: Reuters, October 20, 2020.
Alphabet's Google said the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit against the company was “deeply flawed” and that users would find it more difficult to access superior search tools and affordable smartphones if the government wins its case. Source: Reuters, October 20, 2020.
Alphabet's Google must respond to the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit by December 19, 2020, according to a court filing. Source: Reuters, October 23, 2020.
A group of 165 companies and industry bodies have called on EU antitrust enforcers to take a tougher line against Google, saying the U.S. tech giant unfairly favours its own services on its web searches. Source: Reuters, November 12, 2020.
Google faces fresh regulatory scrutiny in Britain over plans to revamp its ad data system, after a group of competitors complained to regulators that the changes would cement the U.S. tech giant's online dominance. Source: Reuters, November 23, 2020.
The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint accusing Google of unlawfully monitoring and questioning several workers who were then fired for protesting against company policies and trying to organize a union. Source: Reuters, December 2, 2020.
A top Google scientist on ethical artificial intelligence says she was fired after criticizing the company’s diversity efforts, a claim the Alphabet Inc unit disputed, in the latest brush-up between the internet giant and worker activists. Source: Reuters, December 3, 2020.
Google and digital advertising firms are the targets of fresh privacy complaints filed in six EU countries over the way they sell ads to potential advertisers through a bidding process. Source: Reuters, December 10, 2020.
France’s data privacy watchdog has handed out its biggest ever fine of 100 million euros ($121 million) to Google for breaching the country’s rules on online advertising trackers (cookies). Source: Reuters, December 10, 2020.
Texas and nine other states sued Google, accusing it of working with Facebook in an unlawful manner that violated antitrust law to boost its already-dominant online advertising business. Source: Reuters, December 16, 2020.
Facebook and Google agreed to “cooperate and assist one another” if they ever faced an investigation into their pact to work together in online advertising, according to an unredacted version of a lawsuit filed by 10 states against Google last week. Source: The Wall Street Journal, December 22, 2020.
Google said it would block its search engine in Australia if the government proceeds with a new code that would force Google and Facebook to pay media companies for the right to use their content. Source: Reuters, January 21, 2021.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai will hold a video-conference call with EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager on January 25, 2021, according to a European Commission schedule published on January 22, 2021. Source: Reuters, January 22, 2021.
Australia claimed an early win in a protracted licensing battle with Google as media companies lined up to announce content deals with the internet giant that were reportedly far more lucrative than their global rivals. Source: Reuters, February 17, 2021.
Google will cut the service fee it charges developers on its app store by half on the first $1 million they earn in revenue in a year, after a similar move by rival Apple in 2020. Source: Reuters, March 16, 2021.
Four more states have joined a lawsuit filed by Texas and others against Alphabet's Google that accuses it of breaking antitrust laws to boost its already dominant advertising business, the Texas attorney general said. Source: Reuters, March 16, 2021.
Google’s plan to block web-based cookies is a source of concern for U.S. Justice Department investigators who have been asking advertising industry executives whether the move by the search giant will hobble its smaller rivals. Source: Reuters, March 18, 2021.
Google and Apple's “symbiotic relationship” should get scrutiny from the U.K.’s antitrust regulator, a group of online advertisers said. Source: Bloomberg, March 22, 2021.
Two advocacy groups called on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate whether apps that Google’s Play Store labels as “Teacher approved” are unlawfully collecting personal data without parental consent to target ads at children. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) and the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) cited reports from three separate research groups since June 2020 that concluded Play Store apps aimed at children quietly transmitted data about individual users to other companies. Source: Reuters, March 31, 2021.
Google and Apple executives have agreed to testify before the U.S. Senate on competition issues related to mobile app stores. The testimony is expected April 21, 2021. Source: Reuters, April 11, 2021.
Google misled some consumers about personal location data collected through Android mobile devices, Australia's competition regulator said. Source: Reuters, April 16, 2021.
A U.S. judge dismissed antitrust claims against Alphabet's Google brought by a group of advertisers, but offered them a chance to try again after addressing what she called "serious concerns." Source: Reuters, May 12, 2021.
Germany's antitrust watchdog has launched a probe into whether Google Germany, Google Ireland and its parent company Alphabet are exploiting their market dominance in the way they handle data. Source: Reuters, May 25, 2021.
Google is nearing a settlement of an antitrust case in France. The case alleges the company has abused its power in online advertising. Google is likely to pay a fine and make operational changes. Source: The Wall Street Journal, May 27, 2021.
Google agreed to change some of its online advertising services under an unprecedented settlement with France's antitrust watchdog. The watchdog also find Google $267.48 million after a probe found the search giant abused its market power in the intricate ad business online. Source: Reuters, June 7, 2021.
Google has bowed to pressure from rivals and will let them compete for free to be the default search engines on Android devices in Europe, widening a pledge to EU antitrust regulators two years ago. Source: Reuters, June 8, 2021.
Ohio asked a court Google a public utility, a step the state’s Republican attorney general said would forbid the search and advertising giant from giving preferential treatment to its own products. Source: Reuters, June 8, 2021.
Executives from Google and Amazon will head the list of witnesses for a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee the week of June 14, 2021, along with an executive from speaker maker Sonos -- which has been critical of the two tech giants. Source: Reuters, June 11, 2021.
A U.S. appeals court revived a lawsuit in which shareholders of Google parent Alphabet accused the company of fraudulently concealing security vulnerabilities, including in its Google+ social network. Source: Reuters, June 16, 2021.
EU regulators opened an investigation into Google's lucrative digital advertising business to examine whether it favors Google's own business over rivals, advertisers and online publishers. Source: Reuters, June 22, 2021.
Thirty-seven U.S. state and district attorneys general sued Google, alleging the search giant bought off competitors and used restrictive contracts to unlawfully maintain a monopoly for its app store on Android phones. Source: Reuters, July 8, 2021.
France's antitrust watchdog slapped a 500 million euro ($593 million) fine on Alphabet's Google for failing to comply with the regulator's orders on how to conduct talks with the country's news publishers in a row over copyright. Source: Reuters, July 13, 2021.
The U.S. Justice Department is readying a second monopoly lawsuit against Google over the internet search giant's digital advertising business. Source: Bloomberg, September 1, 2021.
Android app makers suing to stop Alphabet's Google from siphoning up to 30 percent of their sales received little reassurance about their chances as a judge allowed a comparable fee charged by Apple to stand. Source: Reuters, September 13, 2021.
South Korea's antitrust regulator has Google 207 billion won ($176.64 million) for blocking customized versions of its Android operating system (OS). Source: Reuters, September 14, 2021.
Google abused the dominant position of its Android operating system in India, using its "huge financial muscle" to illegally hurt competitors, the country's antitrust authority found in a report. Source: Reuters, September 18, 2021.
Google blasted EU antitrust regulators for ignoring rival Apple as it launched a bid to get Europe's second-highest court to annul a record $5.1 billion fine related to its Android operating system. Source: Reuters, September 27, 2021.
DuckDuckGo and three other search engine rivals to Google urged EU lawmakers to take action against Google unit via new tech rules, saying they have yet to see positive results from an antitrust ruling against Google. Source: Reuters, October 7, 2021.
A group of U.S. states led by Texas have filed an amended complaint against Alphabet's Google -- accusing the tech giant of using coercive tactics and breaking antitrust laws in its efforts to boost its already dominant advertising business. Source: Reuters, November 13, 2021.
Germany’s antitrust regulator believes Google’s business meets the threshold for special abuse control, and paves the way for antitrust interventions. Source: TechCrunch, January 5, 2022.
France's data privacy watchdog CNIL has fined Google a record 150 million euros ($169 million) for making it difficult for internet users to refuse online trackers known as cookies. Meta Platforms' Facebook was also fined 60 million euros for the same reason, the CNIL said. Source: Reuters, January 6, 2022.
The U.S. Justice Department has asked a judge to find that Google parent Alphabet abused an attorney-client privilege designation to avoid turning over documents. Source: Reuters, March 21, 2022.
The federal judge hearing the U.S. Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet's Google asked for more information before deciding if he will sanction the search and advertising company for allegedly abusing attorney-client privilege. Source: Reuters, April 12, 2022.
Google urged Europe's second-highest court to dismiss a 1.49-billion-euro ($1.6 billion) fine imposed by EU antitrust regulators three years ago for hindering rivals in online search advertising. Source: Reuters, May 2, 2022.
Britain's competition regulator launched its second probe into the advertising practices of Google, saying the Alphabet-owned search giant could be distorting competition and may have illegally favored its own services. Source: Reuters, May 26, 2022.
The UK kicked off a fresh probe into the Google Play app store over suspicions of anticompetitive conduct as the antitrust watchdog wrapped a sweeping study of Alphabet and Apple's dominance of mobile systems. Source: Bloomberg, June 10, 2022.
Germany's cartel office launched an investigation of Google Germany and parent Alphabet over possible anti-competitive restrictions on the Google Maps platform. Source: Reuters, June 21, 2022.
Alphabet's Google has offered concessions in an attempt to head off a possible U.S. antitrust lawsuit aimed at its massive ad-tech business, according to people familiar with the matter, a sign that legal and regulatory pressures on the tech giant are coming to a head. Source: The Wall Street Journal, July 8, 2022.
South Africa’s Competition Commission, which has been probing online markets for the past 14 months, has provisionally found that Google Search’s practices distorts competition in Google’s favor. Source: Bloomberg, July 14, 2022.
European Union antitrust regulators have asked app developers whether Google's Play Store policies have hurt their business. Source: Reuters, August 4, 2022.
Google must face all but one antitrust allegation about its online advertising business brought in a lawsuit by attorneys general for Texas and 16 other states or territories, a federal judge ruled. Source: Reuters, September 13, 2022.
Google suffered one of its biggest setbacks when a top European court fined it 4.125 billion euros ($4.13 billion) for using its Android mobile operating system to thwart rivals, offering a precedent for other regulators to ratchet up pressure. Source: Reuters, September 14, 2022.
More than 40 European rivals to Google's shopping service urged EU antitrust regulators to use newly adopted tech rules to ensure the Alphabet unit complies with a 2017 EU order to allow more competition on its search page. Source: Reuters, October 17, 2022.
The state of Texas has lawsuit against Google for allegedly collecting biometric data of millions of Texans without obtaining proper consent. Source: Reuters, October 20, 2022.
India's competition regulator Google to change its approach to its Android platform and fined the U.S. tech company $161.95 million for anticompetitive practices. Source: Reuters, October 20, 2022.
Britain's competition watchdog launched an in-depth investigation into the dominance of the mobile browsers of Apple and Google. Source: Reuters, November 22, 2022.
A U.S. judge in California allowed litigation against Google to proceed as a consumer class action of 21 million individuals who accuse the company of violating U.S. anti-competition laws in how it runs its Google Play app store. Source: Reuters, November 28, 2022.

India: Multiple updates...

Amazon documents reveal the company's secret strategy to dodge India's regulators. Source: Reuters, February 17, 2021.
An Indian court dismissed pleas by Amazon.com and Walmart's Flipkart to quash an antitrust investigation, more than a year after the probe was put on hold after legal challenges by the companies. Source: Reuters, June 11, 2021.
Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart must face antitrust investigations ordered against them in India, the country's Supreme Court ruled, in a blow to the leading e-commerce giants which had urged judges to quash the inquiries. Source: Reuters, August 9, 2021.
Google abused the dominant position of its Android operating system in India, using its "huge financial muscle" to illegally hurt competitors, the country's antitrust authority found in a report. Source: Reuters, September 18, 2021.
India's competition regulator Google to change its approach to its Android platform and fined the U.S. tech company $161.95 million for anticompetitive practices. Source: Reuters, October 20, 2022.

Italy: Multiple updates...

Italy’s antitrust authority has opened an inquiry into Google, Apple and Dropbox over cloud computing services. Source: Reuters, September 7, 2020.
Italy's antitrust authority is investigating Alphabet's Google for alleged abuse of its dominant position in the Italian online display advertising market. Source: Reuters, October 28. 2020.
Apple faces an Italian class-action lawsuit seeking compensation over misleading claims about the battery life of older iPhones. Source: Bloomberg, January 25, 2021.
Italy’s competition watchdog has fined Facebook 7 million euros ($8.5 million) for not complying with a request to correct improper commercial practices in its treatment of user data. Source: Reuters, February 16, 2021.
Amazon’s workers in Italy will go on a 24-hour strike on March 22 after negotiations with the U.S. online giant over working conditions broke down, trade unions said. Source: Reuters, March 11, 2021.
Italy's antitrust authority has fined Amazon and Apple total of more than 200 million euros ($225 million) for alleged anti-competitive cooperation in the sale of Apple and Beats products. Source: Reuters, November 23, 2021.
Italy's antitrust has fined Amazon 1.13 billion euros ($1.28 billion) for alleged abuse of market dominance, in one of the biggest penalties imposed on a U.S. tech giant in Europe. Source: Reuters, December 9, 2021.

Ireland: The country's data regulator has given Facebook six weeks to respond to an investigation that may trigger a ban on the social media giant's transatlantic data transfers following a High Court ruling that the probe could resume. Source: Reuters, May 21, 2021.

Japan: Japan will join forces with the United States and Europe to take on any market abuses by the four Big Tech companies, the new head of its antitrust watchdog said, a sign Tokyo will join global efforts to regulate digital platform operators. Source: Reuters, October 19, 2020.

Mexico: Apple and Alphabet's Google are facing a probe over anti-competitive practices in Mexico after the country's former telecommunications chief filed a complaint. Source: Reuters, September 9, 2022.

Microsoft: Multiple updates...

Microsoft may find itself in EU antitrust regulators’ crosshairs yet again after U.S. workspace messaging app Slack Technologies complained about the company embedding its workplace chat and video app Teams in its Office product. Source: Reuters, July 22, 2020.
EU antitrust regulators are following up on a complaint by Slack Technologies by asking Microsoft's rivals if its Teams app integrated with its Office product gives it greater clout, in a sign that they could open an investigation. Source: Reuters, October 8, 2021.
EU's antitrust regulator is taking a deeper look into Microsoft's $16 billion deal for transcription technology company Nuance Communications. asking customers and competitors to draw up a list of concerns. Source: Reuters, December 7, 2021.
France's OVHcloud has filed an antitrust complaint in Europe against Microsoft. Source: The Wall Street Journal, March 16, 2022.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has sought additional data from Activision Blizzard and Microsoft related to the antitrust review of their deal, the games developer said in a regulatory filing. Source: Reuters, March 21, 2022.
EU antitrust regulators are quizzing Microsoft' rivals and customers about its cloud business and licensing deals, in a move that could lead to a formal investigation and renewed scrutiny of the U.S. software company. Source: Reuters, April 1, 2022.
A detailed story from Bloomberg reinforces U.S. and European antitrust concerns about Microsoft's cloud computing business practices. Source: Bloomberg, April 12, 2022.
Microsoft will revise its licensing deals and make it easier for cloud service providers to compete, as the U.S. software giant sought to dodge a lengthy EU antitrust probe into its cloud computing business, Reuters reported.
The near $70 billon deal between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard is under scrutiny as the U.K.'s antitrust regulatory has opened an inquiry into the deal to see if it will impact rivals. Source: SeekingAlpha, July 7, 2022.
AWS and OVH sent an antitrust complaint against Microsoft to the European Union, alleging the Microsoft Cloud has unfair licensing practices. Source: Bloomberg, November 8, 2022.
Microsoft may have to offer concessions to address EU antitrust concerns about its $69 billion bid for "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard after regulators opened a full-scale investigation and warned about the impact of the deal. Source: Reuters, November 8, 2022.
Microsoft is likely to face an EU antitrust investigation as regulators intensify their scrutiny into its practices in a case triggered by Salesforce.com's workspace messaging app Slack. Source: Reuters, November 24, 2022.

Netflix: Technology firms' compliance with European restrictions on transatlantic data transfers is shockingly poor, Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems said, publishing a survey here of companies including Facebook and Netflix. Source: Reuters, September 28, 2020.

Netherlands: Multiple updates...

The Netherlands' top competition regulator said Apple broke the country's competition laws and ordered changes to the iPhone maker's App Store payment policies. Source: Reuters, December 24, 2021.
The Dutch antitrust watchdog said it is studying whether a new round of changes Apple has announced to its App Store terms and conditions in the Netherlands will bring it into compliance with national law. Source: Reuters, February 7, 2022.

New Zealand: The New Zealand government said it will introduce a law that will require big online digital companies such as Alphabet's Google and Meta Platforms' Facebook to pay New Zealand media companies for the local news content that appears on their feeds. Source: Reuters, December 5, 2022.

Small Business Rising: A group called Small Business Rising has formed to promote stronger antitrust laws while also pushing legislators to break up Amazon. Small Business Rising's goals are outlined here. Source: Small Business Rising, April 6, 2021.

South Africa: The country's Competition Commission, which has been probing online markets for the past 14 months, has provisionally found that Google Search’s practices distorts competition in Google’s favor. Source: Bloomberg, July 14, 2022.

South Korea: South Korea's antitrust regulator has Google 207 billion won ($176.64 million) for blocking customized versions of its Android operating system (OS). Source: Reuters, September 14, 2021.

Spain: Amazon will raise fees for Spanish companies using its platform by 3% from April after the government imposed a digital tax, a company document reveals. Source: Reuters, January 22, 2021.

United Kingdom: Multiple updates...

Facebook is facing a second London High Court class action over allegations it failed to protect the personal details of about one million people in England and Wales, in the latest lawsuit to spring from a scandal over data harvesting. Source: Reuters, February 9, 2021.
Britain’s competition regulator has opened an investigation into Apple after complaints that the iPhone maker’s terms and conditions for app developers are unfair and anti-competitive. The probe will consider if Apple has a dominant position in the distribution of apps on its devices in the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said. Source: Reuters, March 4, 2021.
Google and Apple's “symbiotic relationship” should get scrutiny from the U.K.’s antitrust regulator, a group of online advertisers said. Source: Bloomberg, March 22, 2021.
Fortnite maker Epic Games has filed a complaint with Britain’s competition regulator in support of its investigation into Apple's alleged anti-competitive behavior. Source: Reuters, March 30, 2021.
The UK's competition regulator, known as the Competition and Markets Authority, plans to probe into Amazon's use of data. Source: Financial Times, June 10, 2021.
Britain’s competition watchdog said it would investigate whether Apple and Google's dominance of mobile phone operating systems, app stores and web browsers hurt consumers, launching its latest probe into the tech giants. The Competition and Markets Authority said it would undertake a "market study" into the matter to see whether the pair's effective duopoly was stifling competition and ripping off consumers, or hurting businesses like app developers. Source: Reuters, June 15, 2021.
Britain's competition regulator has fined Facebook 50.5 million pounds ($69.6 million) for breaching an order imposed during its investigation into the U.S. social media giant's purchase of GIF platform Giphy. Source: Reuters, October 20, 2021.
The UK kicked off a fresh probe into the Google Play app store over suspicions of anticompetitive conduct as the antitrust watchdog wrapped a sweeping study of Alphabet and Apple's dominance of mobile systems. Source: Bloomberg, June 10, 2022.
The near $70 billon deal between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard is under scrutiny as the U.K.'s antitrust regulatory has opened an inquiry into the deal to see if it will impact rivals. Source: SeekingAlpha, July 7, 2022.
Google suffered one of its biggest setbacks when a top European court fined it 4.125 billion euros ($4.13 billion) for using its Android mobile operating system to thwart rivals, offering a precedent for other regulators to ratchet up pressure. Source: Reuters, September 14, 2022.
The UK's Office of Communications will probe the market positions of Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet's Google in the coming weeks as part of a study into the country’s cloud-infrastructure-services sector. Source: The Wall Street Journal, September 22, 2022.
Amazon faces a UK class-action lawsuit over claims the tech giant uses a “secretive” algorithm to abuse its dominant position in the online marketplace. Source: Bloomberg, October 20, 2022.
Britain's competition watchdog launched an in-depth investigation into the dominance of the mobile browsers of Apple and Google. Source: Reuters, November 22, 2022.

Visit page three for anti-trust updates involving the United States vs. Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and more. Visit page three for anti-trust updates involving the United States vs. Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and more. United States: Multiple updates...

A much-anticipated deep dive into antitrust allegations against four of America’s largest tech companies -- Facebook, Amazon.com, Google parent Alphabet, and Apple -- and recommendations on how to tame their market power could be released by late summer or early fall from the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel, senior committee aides said. Source: Reuters, July 24, 2020.
A U.S. congressional hearing scheduled for this week to question the chief executives of Facebook, Amazon.com, Google parent Alphabet, and Apple has been officially delayed, the Judiciary Committee said on July 24. Source: Reuters, July 24, 2020.
The biggest U.S. technology companies have gone on a buying spree this year, waving off intense scrutiny from competition watchdogs and critics who say they’ve bolstered their power by snatching up nascent rivals. The number of acquisitions by the five largest companies -- Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Facebook Inc., and Microsoft Corp. -- came at the fastest pace through June since 2015, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Source: Bloomberg, July 27, 2020.
Republican Senator Josh Hawley introduced legislation that would penalize large tech companies that sell or show targeted advertisements by threatening a legal immunity enjoyed by the industry - the latest onslaught on Big Tech’s business practices. Source: Reuters, July 28, 2020.
Here's a transcript of what Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos plans to tell the U.S. House of Representatives. And here's a transcript of what Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to tell the committee. Bezos and Zuckerberg are appearing at a congressional hearing about Big Tech and antitrust concerns. Source: ChannelE2E, July 29, 2020.
Google and Facebook took particularly sharp jabs for alleged abuse of their market power from Democrats and Republicans in a much-anticipated congressional hearing that put four of America’s most prominent tech CEOs in the hot seat. Source: Reuters, July 29, 2020.

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg stumbled at a congressional hearing on alleged abuse of market power, as lawmakers confronted the social media titan with damaging internal emails about the company’s acquisitions. Source: Reuters, July 29, 2020.
As Apple and Amazon.com worked toward a high-profile distribution deal at least a couple of years ago, one proposal on the table was for Apple to have “competing ads removed from search” results on Amazon, according to documents released from a U.S. House of Representatives investigation. Source: Reuters, July 29, 2020.
The chief executives of Amazon.com, Facebook, Apple and Alphabet's Google faced relentless criticism at a congressional hearing, with Democrats and Republicans alike challenging their business practices over more than five contentious hours. Source: The Wall Street Journal, July 29, 2020.
The U.S. Justice Department is moving “full-tilt” on its antitrust investigation of Alphabet Inc’s Google and other Big Tech platforms. Source: Reuters, August 13, 2020.
Silicon Valley has a potential ally in Kamala Harris, Joe Biden's running mate in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Harris is a California senator who has strong ties to executives behind the nation’s technology giants and has been largely silent about the antitrust issues currently plaguing them. Source: The Wall Street Journal, August 13, 2020.
Tech executives and venture capitalists have high hopes Sen. Kamala Harris -- Joe Biden's running mate == will bring a moderate touch to those conversations and to regulating large and small businesses alike. Source: The Wall Street Journal, August 13, 2020.
Some Justice Department staffers have expressed internal concerns over plans to bring an antitrust lawsuit against Google —and what they view as an aggressive timeline favored by Attorney General William Barr. Source: The Wall Street Journal, August 17, 2020.
Two progressive Democrats tweeted support for legal action against tech giants who break the law, in a rare instance of agreement with the Republican administration amid a polarized political environment. Senator Elizabeth Warren, long a critic of Big Tech, tweeted that Google “uses its size to bully competitors.” Also, the Federal Trade Commission’s Rohit Chopra, a Democratic commissioner, tweeted support for the investigations into “tech titans,” but did not name Google. Source: Reuters, September 11, 2020.
Democratic lawmakers are expected to call on Congress to blunt the power of big technology companies, possibly through forced separation of online platforms, as a House panel concludes its Big Tech probe. The report follows the committee’s collection of more than one million documents from Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Alphabet's Google. Source: The Wall Street Journal, September 30, 2020.
The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee is expected to release a much-anticipated report into antitrust allegations against four of America’s largest tech companies as soon as October 5, 2020. The report will focus on Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Alphabet's Google. Source: Reuters, September 29, 2020.
The U.S. House of Representatives antitrust report on Big Tech firms contains a “thinly veiled call to break up” the companies. The House antitrust subcommittee is expected to publish its report this week on Amazon.com, Apple, Facebook and Google owner Alphabet. Source: Reuters, October 5, 2020.
The U.S. Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet Inc’s Google on October 20, 2020, accusing the company of illegally using its market power to fend off rivals and said nothing was off the table, including a breakup of the internet search and advertising company. Source: Reuters, October 20, 2020.
Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Republican and a tough critic of the big tech companies, urged the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday to interview some former employees of Facebook as part of its probe of the social media giant. Both the FTC and groups of state attorneys general are widely believed to be planning litigation against Facebook for breaking antitrust law. Source: Reuters, November 12, 2020.
The U.S. Justice Department accused Facebook of discriminating against U.S. workers, saying in a new lawsuit the social media giant has given hiring preferences to temporary workers, including those who hold H-1B visas. Source: Reuters, December 3, 2020.
Facebook could be forced to sell WhatsApp and Instagram after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and nearly every U.S. state filed lawsuits against the social media company. The lawsuits claim Facebook used a “buy or bury” strategy to snap up rivals and keep smaller competitors at bay. Source: Reuters, December 9, 2020.

Texas and nine other states sued Google, accusing it of working with Facebook in an unlawful manner that violated antitrust law to boost its already-dominant online advertising business. Source: Reuters, December 16, 2020.
Facebook and Google agreed to “cooperate and assist one another” if they ever faced an investigation into their pact to work together in online advertising, according to an unredacted version of a lawsuit filed by 10 states against Google last week. Source: The Wall Street Journal, December 22, 2020.
Senator Amy Klobuchar has unveiled a plan for how Congress could update antitrust laws to give enforcers better odds and more ammunition for taking on Big Tech and other industries dominated by a handful of mega-corporations. Source: Axios, February 4, 2021.
Congressional Democrats have begun discussions with the White House on ways to crack down on Big Tech including making social media companies accountable for the spread of disinformation on matters such as the U.S. Capitol riot and addressing the abuse of market power to harm corporate rivals. Source: Reuters, February 17, 2021.
Bipartisan members of Congress plan to introduce a bill in coming weeks to make it easier for smaller news organizations to negotiate with Big Tech platforms, said Rep. Ken Buck, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel. Source: Reuters, February 19, 2021.
Big Tech critic and antitrust hawk Tim Wu is joining the Biden administration to work on technology and competition on the National Economic Council. Source: CNBC, March 5, 2021.
Two advocacy groups called on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate whether apps that Google’s Play Store labels as “Teacher approved” are unlawfully collecting personal data without parental consent to target ads at children. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) and the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) cited reports from three separate research groups since June 2020 that concluded Play Store apps aimed at children quietly transmitted data about individual users to other companies. Source: Reuters, March 31, 2021.
A group called Small Business Rising has formed to promote stronger antitrust laws while also pushing legislators to break up Amazon. Small Business Rising's goals are outlined here. Source: Small Business Rising, April 6, 2021.
Google and Apple executives have agreed to testify before the U.S. Senate on competition issues related to mobile app stores. The testimony is expected April 21, 2021. Source: Reuters, April 11, 2021.
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican who has been a staunch critic of Big Tech, said he has introduced a bill that would ban all mergers and acquisitions by any company with a market value greater $100 billion, a category that includes the five biggest U.S. tech companies -- Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft. Source: Reuters, April 12, 2021.
The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee formally approved a report accusing Big Tech companies of buying or crushing smaller firms. The report will become the blueprint for legislation to rein in the market power of Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google. Source: Reuters, April 15, 2021.
A U.S. judge dismissed antitrust claims against Alphabet's Google brought by a group of advertisers, but offered them a chance to try again after addressing what she called "serious concerns." Source: Reuters, May 12, 2021.
Executives from Google and Amazon will head the list of witnesses for a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee the week of June 14, 2021, along with an executive from speaker maker Sonos -- which has been critical of the two tech giants. Source: Reuters, June 11, 2021.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced four bills aimed at reining in the power of the tech giants, with one bill potentially leading to Big Tech company break-ups. Source: Reuters, June 11, 2021.

Lina Khan has been named chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Khan is an outspoken critic of Big Tech. As a law student four years ago, Khan published a highly influential paper that recast the debate over anticompetitive behavior, particularly among Big Tech firms. In the paper, titled “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox,” Khan argued that using prices as the primary gauge of anticompetitive behavior was an insufficient measure of market power among certain firms, particularly Big Tech companies and their platforms. Source: Ars Technica, June 16, 2021.
Amazon and Google need to offer more details about how their smart-home devices and virtual assistants will support competition and user privacy, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar wrote to the companies. Source: Reuters, June 23, 2021.
Thirty-seven U.S. state and district attorneys general sued Google, alleging the search giant bought off competitors and used restrictive contracts to unlawfully maintain a monopoly for its app store on Android phones. Source: Reuters, July 8, 2021.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) refreshed its antitrust case against Facebook, adding more detail on the accusation the social media company crushed or bought rivals and once again asking a judge to force the social media giant to sell Instagram and WhatsApp. Source: Reuters, August 19, 2021.
The U.S. Justice Department is readying a second monopoly lawsuit against Google over the internet search giant's digital advertising business. Source: Bloomberg, September 1, 2021.
U.S. lawmakers determined to tighten antitrust laws said that a judge's decision giving only a partial victory to "Fortnite" creator Epic Games in its fight with Apple was further evidence of the need for new laws to limit Big Tech. Source: Reuters, September 10, 2021.
A U.S. judge stopped short of labeling Apple an "illegal monopolist", but the closely-watched ruling provides a roadmap for similar claims against the iPhone maker in the future, legal experts said. Source: Reuters, September 10, 2021.
The city of Washington, D.C., has broadened its antitrust lawsuit against Amazon to challenge the online retailer's agreements with wholesalers as well as third-party sellers. Source: Reuters, September 13, 2021.
Staff of the Federal Trade Commission will present their findings on September 15, 2021, on business deals that Facebook and Google did that were sometimes too small to prompt antitrust review. The agency, which began holding open meetings after progressive Lina Khan became chair in June 2021, will hear about Big Tech acquisitions done between 2010 and 2019. In addition to Facebook and Google, the agency also gathered data from Amazon.com, Apple and Microsoft. Source: Reuters, September 15, 2021.
The White House said more needs to be done and reforms should happen given privacy and trust concerns raised about Facebook. Source: Reuters, October 6, 2021.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers, headed by Senators Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, and Republican Chuck Grassley, plan to introduce a bill that would bar Big Tech platforms, like Amazon and Alphabet's Google, from favoring their products and services. Source: Reuters, October 14, 2021.
In a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, members of a congressional committee questioned whether Amazon executives misled them during an investigation of the company’s business practices and if they may have lied under oath. Source: The Wall Street Journal, October 18, 2021.
A group of U.S. states led by Texas have filed an amended complaint against Alphabet's Google -- accusing the tech giant of using coercive tactics and breaking antitrust laws in its efforts to boost its already dominant advertising business. Source: Reuters, November 13, 2021.
Three U.S. senators, two Democrats and a Republican, announced a bill to require social media companies to give certain researchers access to its data. Source: Reuters, December 9, 2021.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is moving forward with an investigation into AWS over competition issues. Source: Bloomberg, December 22, 2021.
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on approved a bill that would bar tech giants like Amazon.com from giving preference to their own businesses on their websites, despite hefty lobbying from top executives like Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook. Source: Reuters, January 20, 2022.
A detailed story from Bloomberg reinforces U.S. and European antitrust concerns about Microsoft's cloud computing business practices. Source: Bloomberg, April 12, 2022.
The federal judge hearing the U.S. Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet's Google asked for more information before deciding if he will sanction the search and advertising company for allegedly abusing attorney-client privilege. Source: Reuters, April 12, 2022.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers defended a bill to rein in big technology companies, signaling that momentum is building for the first major piece of legislation to curb the power of giant online platforms. Source: Bloomberg, June 8, 2022.
Supporters of a U.S. bill aimed at reining in Big Tech platforms like Amazon.com and Alphabet's Google have flooded lawmakers with nearly 4,000 phone calls, while critics of the legislation sent a letter telling senators it would "harm consumers." Source: Reuters, June 21, 2022.
Alphabet's Google has offered concessions in an attempt to head off a possible U.S. antitrust lawsuit aimed at its massive ad-tech business, according to people familiar with the matter, a sign that legal and regulatory pressures on the tech giant are coming to a head. Source: The Wall Street Journal, July 8, 2022.
Facing a potential stalemate, lawmakers backing an antitrust bill targeting Big Tech companies ramped up their push for a vote by releasing new internal tech company documents that they say show anticompetitive behavior. Source: The Wall Street Journal, July 19, 2022.
Amazon has hired a senior Republican congressional aide -- Judd Smith -- to bolster its efforts to stymie a new antitrust bill aimed at U.S. technology companies. Source: Bloomberg, August 1, 2022.
Justice Department lawyers are in the early stages of drafting a potential antitrust complaint against Apple, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter — a sign that a long-running investigation may be nearing a decision point and a suit could be coming soon. Source: Politico, August 26, 2022.
Google must face all but one antitrust allegation about its online advertising business brought in a lawsuit by attorneys general for Texas and 16 other states or territories, a federal judge ruled. Source: Reuters, September 13, 2022.
The state of Texas has lawsuit against Google for allegedly collecting biometric data of millions of Texans without obtaining proper consent. Source: Reuters, October 20, 2022.
A U.S. judge in California allowed litigation against Google to proceed as a consumer class action of 21 million individuals who accuse the company of violating U.S. anti-competition laws in how it runs its Google Play app store. Source: Reuters, November 28, 2022.