A former Justice lawyer and antitrust expert says Facebook’s purchase of photo-sharing site Instagram will take between 4 months and one year to clear regulatory hurdles. In the meantime, the deal is effectively on hold. Read more »
Publishers Hachette and Harper Collins slipped further away from the class action lawyer who wants them to pay over an alleged e-book price-fixing conspiracy. Read more at paidContent »
Verizon and Comcast are now selling their cross-network bundle of mobile and broadband services in six new markets. The U.S. Department of Justice may well find that their cross-selling pact anti-competitive, but Verizon and its cable partners aren’t stopping until they’re told they have to. Read more »
There is real long-term danger to Netflix lurking in the FCC’s current net neutrality rules, but it lies in the rules’ failure to regulate those parts of the Internet the consumer doesn’t see, like peering agreements between last-mile ISPs and content distribution networks (CDNs). While Netflix ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Book publishers argue that Amazon is a vicious monopoly that has too much power over them and their content. But they need to realize they gave Amazon much of that power themselves when they agreed to shackle all of their books in DRM chains. Read more »
The lawsuits over price-fixing in the e-book market took a new twist today after a HarperCollins lawyer predicted that three publishers could reach a settlement with all 50 state governments in the next two months. Read more at paidContent »
What’s happening in the e-book market is not fundamentally different from what happened in the music industry. The retail price of recorded music has plunged thanks to digital technology and the record labels lost market power. At the same time, innovation has flourished at the retail ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The Justice Department is pouncing on statements by Apple like “aikido move” and “trounce Amazon” to prove its case that Apple was the hub of a illegal conspiracy to fix the price of e-books. While the statements sounds serious, the government’s overall explanation of Apple’s role […] Read more at paidContent »
Our primer to today’s DOJ lawsuit against five publishers and Apple — how we got here and what comes next. Read more at paidContent »
Apple and book publishers already have their hands full after the Justice Department sued them in New York today for allegedly fixing the price of e-books. Now, state governments are seeking their own pound of flesh. Read more at paidContent »
The Justice Department has at last filed an anti-trust complaint in New York against Apple and five publishers over an alleged price fixing conspiracy. Read more at paidContent »
In a letter to the Senate, Washington-based lobbyist Consumer Federation of America claims “this year the cost to consumers of e-book price fixing will likely exceed $200 million and the abuse will grow dramatically.” How did the CFA calculate that number? Read more at paidContent »
Anti-trust investigations are supposed to be tight-lipped affairs in which all sides lawyer up until the case settles or goes to trial. Well, that’s how it’s supposed to work at least. But in the case of book publishers and Apple, people are tossing legal duties to the wind in the hopes that press leaks will shape a settlement. Read more at paidContent »
European regulators say they are opening two investigations into claims of patent abuse by Motorola Mobility — which could put the company’s $12.5bn acquisition by Google in jeopardy. Read more »
The plaintiffs who are accusing Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and publishers of fixing e-book prices say they don’t have to show an actual meeting took… Read more at paidContent »
Facebook engaged in an illegal conspiracy to monopolize the market for display ads says the maker of PageRage, a product that lets users per… Read more at paidContent »
The Federal Trade Commission has reportedly asked Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) to supply information as part of its investigation into whether Google… Read more at paidContent »
Penguin Group, one of the “Big 5″ publishers caught up in a lawsuit over e-book pricing, says customers agreed not to sue them when they tur… Read more at paidContent »
A court filing provides new insight into Apple’s version of events concerning an incident in which Steve Jobs told a reporter that “unhappy”… Read more at paidContent »
The Justice Department is about to sue Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and five publishers for conspiring to raise the price of e-books. The warning is a… Read more at paidContent »
With Google and European officials clashing again, this time over the company’s new, simplified privacy policy, is it simply a one-off moment of friction — or part of an inevitable slide towards all-out conflict? Read more »
Google (NSDQ: GOOG) will use email and a message on its home page to notify users about a new privacy policy that will go into effect this M… Read more at paidContent »
Twitter and some pundits are crying foul over Google’s decision to exclude certain competitors from its new search and social networking hyb… Read more at paidContent »
This morning Google (NSDQ: GOOG) unfurled a pretty new search feature that lets users receive personalized results based on their own friend… Read more at paidContent »
Google is promoting its new “personalized search” features as an enhancement for users, but Twitter and others say the integration of Google+ results uses the company’s dominance in search to promote its own service, an argument that could turn up the antitrust heat in Washington. Read more »
Recent interviews shed light on how the antitrust cases against Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and book publishers will unfold. The e-book controversy w… Read more at paidContent »
Controversy over a Google marketing program for Chrome that involves spammy web content and the removal of an “offensive” Google+ avatar photo reinforce how hard it is for the search giant to run multiple businesses without tripping over itself and its own guidelines. Read more »
The decision by major publishers to strike a pricing deal with Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) has been the source of speculation and several antitrust i… Read more at paidContent »
In the mushrooming controversy over e-books, it’s easy to understand the publishers’ motives. But what about Apple? (NSDQ: AAPL) Did the com… Read more at paidContent »
The Justice Department today asked a federal judge to postpone or withdraw its petition to stop AT&T (NYSE: T) from acquiring T-Mobile. It c… Read more at paidContent »
The Justice Department has sent a clear signal to AT&T that it doesn’t like its tactics as the operator tries to buy T-Mobile. The DOJ is seeking a halt all court proceedings until AT&T resubmits its FCC merger application, potentially putting the deal in limbo. Read more »
It’s been a week to forget for publishers after both the Justice Department and the European Commission announced investigations into e-book… Read more at paidContent »
European antitrust regulators have announced the launch of a formal investigation into the relationship between Apple and five of the world’s largest publishers, in a move that could reshape the digital book market. Read more »
The FCC condemned AT&T-Mo in every way it could think of short of denying the actual merger. Instead it passed it along to an administrative law judge, where telecom deals go to die. But first AT&T has to face down the DOJ. Read more »
Apple and Samsung’s patent gripes are troubling Europe’s top body governing antitrust concerns, European Commissioner Joaquín Almunia told reporters on Tuesday, according to ZDNet. Almunia says IP rights can be “used as a tool of abuse,” and worries that could be what’s happening here . Read more »
An “upstart competitor” is claiming Google (NSDQ: GOOG) punted it to the farthest reaches of its search results and is now fighting to level… Read more at paidContent »
Sprint’s lawsuit to stop the proposed merger between AT&T (NYSE: T) and T-Mobile went before a federal judge today. One antitrust expert exp… Read more at paidContent »
Fans who purchased resold tickets to Bruce Springsteen, Miley Cyrus and other shows are set to receive a payout under the terms of a new set… Read more at paidContent »
Software development is always evolving and advancing, and business models and cultural norms evolve along with it. New capabilities spring up regularly, and business models can change overnight, meaning laws written to address specific concerns can fast become obsolete or, perhaps worse, hindrances to innovation. Read more »
The government’s case against Google will have to grapple with some fundamental questions. What does the word “monopoly” mean when applied to a web-based entity like Google? And are network effects a barrier to entry, or are online monopolies inherently more fragile than their real-world cousins? Read more »
