Justice Department Is Preparing Antitrust Investigation of Google

ronjor · May 31, 2019

By Brent Kendall andJohn D. McKinnon
Updated May 31, 2019 8:45 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON—The Justice Department is gearing up for an antitrust investigation of Alphabet Inc.’s Google, a move that could present a major new layer of regulatory scrutiny for the search giant, according to people familiar with the matter.
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guest · May 31, 2019

more info about it (no paywall):

US Justice Department is imminently preparing a Google antitrust investigation
The DOJ is said to have spent the past few weeks preparing for the probe. Following publication of the WSJ’s story, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Bloomberg are confirming an imminent antitrust probe as well. [...]
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zapjb · May 31, 2019

I'd say I'm cynical but my experience says otherwise. I say these days 99.9%+ of investigations involving multi-billion dollar entities don't do ****.

ronjor · Jun 3, 2019

Facebook, Google stocks fall on imminent antitrust probes

Timothy B. Lee - 6/3/2019
The stock market has reacted badly to reports in The Wall Street Journal that two of the nation's largest technology companies—Facebook and Google—are likely to face intensifying antitrust scrutiny from federal regulators in the United States.
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hawki · Jun 3, 2019

Looks like Apple can be added to the list:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...considering-apple-probe-sources-idUSKCN1T42DD

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/f...tting-slammed-2019-06-03?mod=mw_theo_homepage

hawki · Jun 3, 2019

"House Judiciary Committee Launches Antitrust Investigation of Tech Giants

Depositions, public hearings and document requests await tech giants like Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Apple..."

https://www.thedailybeast.com/house...tion-of-tech-giants-apple-facebook-and-google

Piling On

"Facebook, Google and other tech giants to face antitrust investigation by House lawmakers

House Democrats plan a sweeping review of Facebook, Google and other technology giants to determine if they’ve become so large and powerful that they stifle competition and harm consumers, marking a new, unprecedented antitrust threat for an industry that’s increasingly under siege by Congress, the White House and 2020 presidential candidates..."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/tech...on-by-house-lawmakers/?utm_term=.f94eac6e2b1a

ronjor · Jun 4, 2019

US antitrust enforcement is coming back from the dead

What this weekend’s announcements mean for Big Tech
By Casey Newton@CaseyNewton Jun 4, 2019
That leads us all to this weekend, and today, when sentiment appeared to turn finally — and in a bipartisan manner — in favor of a Big Tech reckoning. The sheer amount of investigations and potential investigations is dizzying, so let’s break down who’s doing what, and to whom.
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ronjor · Jun 4, 2019

Tim Cook says Apple is not a monopoly as the government begins its antitrust probe

Lauren Feiner@lauren_feiner
Apple CEO Tim Cook told CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell the company’s non-dominant position in the global smartphone market prove it is not a monopoly.
Apple faces a potential probe into anti-competitive behavior from the U.S. Department of Justice, Reuters reported Monday.
The probe is part of a sweeping agreement between the nation’s top antitrust regulators to divide oversight of some of the largest tech firms, according to reports from The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.
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Alec · Jun 4, 2019

I'm not normally a big fan of antitrust laws, but I do agree that Google probably needs to be looked at. Honestly, though, I think Amazon should be the first target. Amazon's retail operation should definitely be broken apart from their Amazon Web Services (AWS) operation and their Wholefoods / grocery store operation. Google search / advertising operations should also likewise be broken apart from their Google Cloud Platform (GCP) operations... it's just that GCP has nowhere near the dominance of AWS.

guest · Jun 4, 2019

Google and Facebook Shouldn’t Worry About a Breakup. Yet.
Antitrust regulators can pressure the big tech companies, but current law isn’t an existential threat
June 4, 2019
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/a...oogle-and-facebook-shouldn-t-fear-breakup-yet

Under existing antitrust law, the big tech companies won’t be broken up. If, however, regulators and the courts decide to reimagine antitrust law in new ways, then the risk of breakup would rise precipitously.

To understand the distinction, recall that the federal antitrust law as interpreted by the courts today doesn’t outlaw being a monopoly. The Federal Trade Commission’s own website says that “it is not illegal for a company to have a monopoly, to charge ‘high prices,’ or to try to achieve a monopoly position by aggressive methods.”

Companies can lawfully enjoy the advantages of the monopoly position, provided they don’t engage in what the law calls “anticompetitive behavior.”
In practice, government regulators therefore have to look at the behaviors of monopolists and figure out whether they are causing real-world economic harm.
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ronjor · Jun 6, 2019

Amazon executive says company welcomes scrutiny of big tech

Jeffrey Dastin June 5, 2019
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - One of Amazon.com Inc’s top executives on Wednesday responded to reported information gathering by U.S. antitrust enforcers and to calls by some critics to break up the company with a simple message: we welcome any review.
“Substantial entities in the economy deserve scrutiny, and our job is to build the kind of company that passes that scrutiny,” Jeff Wilke, the CEO of Amazon’s consumer business, said at a press conference in Las Vegas.
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ronjor · Jun 7, 2019

Five ways Google could be vulnerable to a Justice Department probe

By Adi Robertson@thedextriarchy Jun 7, 2019
Google dominates the search market, but it also holds nearly 40 percent of the digital advertising market, and Android is the world’s most popular operating system. In all of these markets, critics have claimed that Google is simply too big, and it’s faced billion-dollar fines over each of them in Europe.
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guest · Jun 8, 2019

Here’s a Guide to the U.S. Antitrust Case Against Big Tech Companies
June 8, 2019
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-us-antitrust-case-against-fb-amzn-aapl-googl

The U.S. government is sharpening its antitrust scrutiny of Big Tech. In a sign that formal inquiries could be forthcoming, the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission last week divvied up antitrust oversight for Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google.
History may be on their side: Corporate breakups are a significant, and rare, undertaking for the U.S.

Any formal investigation will take a long time. Government scrutiny of Microsoft lasted years. As all sides dig in, here’s a look at some of the issues the government could home in on as it builds its case, and some of the ways the companies might argue their way out.
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ronjor · Jun 11, 2019

The DOJ’s antitrust chief just telegraphed exactly how it could go after Google, Apple and other big tech companies

Lauren Feiner @lauren_feiner 11 June 2019
Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim laid out some possible antitrust arguments against big tech in a new speech in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.
The speech clarifies some potential arguments the Department of Justice may be pursuing as it reportedly eyes probes into Apple and Google parent company Alphabet.
Among those arguments: if a company makes an acquisition or other move for “no economic sense” but simply to harm competitors, that could be a violation.
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ronjor · Jun 13, 2019

States threaten their own antitrust moves against tech firms

By Brian Fung, CNN Wed June 12, 2019
Multiple states are preparing investigations into the tech industry, according to two people familiar with the matter. At least a dozen states are involved, according to a third person familiar with the discussions.
The state moves come as the tech industry faces possible investigations from the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission, as well as an antitrust probe by the House Judiciary Committee.
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mirimir · Jun 13, 2019

Social media is getting very politically biased. Not that I have a horse in that foolishness.

But I guess that corporations, having ~human rights, can do that, if they like. According to the Supreme Court, as I understand it.

As long as they're not not-for-profit firms, which none of them are.

I do think that they ought to be regulated as public utilities, like water and electricity.

ronjor · Jun 14, 2019

CNN Business Exclusive: Google CEO reacts to looming US antitrust probes for first time

By Seth Fiegerman, CNN Business Updated 10:18 AM ET, Fri June 14, 2019
"We have gone through similar situations in Europe, so it's not a surprise to us," Pichai said in a wide-ranging interview with CNN Business' Poppy Harlow, marking his first extensive comments since news broke in recent weeks of federal and Congressional probes into the market dominance of Google and several of its peers. "For some of the other companies, maybe the scrutiny is newer."
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ronjor · Jun 20, 2019

Big Tech fears US regulation, but it may be Ireland that should scare them

Elizabeth Schulze @eschulze9 20 June 2019
Ireland has become the main regulator enforcing rules on how big tech companies collect and process user data under Europe’s privacy law called GDPR.
Ireland’s Data Protection Commission is conducting 20 investigations into big tech companies.
In an interview with CNBC’s “Beyond the Valley,” Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner explained how she is investigating Big Tech.
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ronjor · Jun 23, 2019

Aussie watchdog readies clampdown on Google, Facebook

Source: AFP/na
SYDNEY: Australia's competition watchdog is poised to call for far-reaching new regulations on Facebook, Google and other tech giants which could have global ramifications for how they make money and choose the content people consume.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's recommendations, if confirmed, would be among the strongest yet in a drive to rein in the power of digital behemoths amid a host of worldwide concerns ranging from anti-trust issues to privacy abuse, and their role in spreading disinformation and hateful content.
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ronjor · Jun 24, 2019

Big Tech must be regulated now, Bill Gates says

By Clare Duffy, CNN Business Updated 3:23 PM ET, Mon June 24, 2019
New York (CNN Business)Bill Gates says the US government must step up its regulation of big tech companies, whose influence in culture, business and all areas of life is becoming more pervasive.
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guest · Jun 26, 2019

Big Tech’s problem is its lack of competition
June 25, 2019
https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/25/...-apple-facebook-google-kara-swisher-vergecast

According to Recode editor-at-large Kara Swisher, one of Silicon Valley’s biggest problems right now is its lack of competition. That big tech companies like Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google have become too dominant and have thus stifled competition and creativity.
Here is a lightly edited excerpt of Kara Swisher and Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel discussing the importance of competition and the possibilities of breaking up the tech giants that rule the land.

"Some regulation is needed. There should be some more around privacy and there should be real teeth around these laws and certain laws already in place that they aren’t enforcing.
And then there are some things that we should break up and spin off.

I think Google is a good candidate for that. Probably YouTube from Google. That seems obvious. There’s a lot of others. Facebook could lose Instagram and WhatsApp. Amazon... I don’t know, Prime? Could you pull off Prime? Probably not. Apple is tricky, too.

But the principle ones are Facebook and Google."
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ronjor · Jul 2, 2019

US retail group offers to help antitrust investigators in going after Amazon and Google

Sarah Perez@sarahintampa 02 July 2019
A leading U.S. retail group, whose members include Walmart, Target, Best Buy and others, has penned a letter to the Federal Trade Commission that details its concerns over big tech companies’ dominance. The letter specifically calls out Amazon and Google for their control over the majority of internet product searches, how price and product information reaches consumers and other concerns.
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ronjor · Jul 9, 2019

Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple will show up at congressional antitrust hearing next week

Steve Kovach@stevekovach 09 July 2019
Representatives from Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook will appear before the House Antitrust Subcommittee on July 16.
The hearing will focus on “dominant platforms and innovation.”
The FTC and DOJ are said to be looking into large tech companies for potential antitrust cases.
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guest · Jul 15, 2019

What to expect from tomorrow’s antitrust hearing featuring big tech
July 15, 2019
https://techcrunch.com/2019/07/15/w...morrows-antitrust-hearing-featuring-big-tech/

Tomorrow, representatives from Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple will testify before Congress in the second hearing organized as part of the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust investigation into the world’s largest technology companies.
While the first hearing focused on the ways technology companies busted the traditional news business, this one promises to look at the “impact of market power of online platforms on innovation and entrepreneurship,” according to the committee.

Policy watchers can expect market criticisms of the big technology platforms to come from a few different angles (each company has different, slightly overlapping, issues that policymakers find worrisome).
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ronjor · Jul 16, 2019

Facebook Denies App Changes to Avoid Breakup: Antitrust Update

By David McLaughlin and Ben Brody
July 16, 2019, 2:07 PM CDT Updated on July 16, 2019, 4:53 PM CDT
U.S. technology giants are headed for their biggest antitrust showdown with Congress in 20 years as lawmakers and regulators demand to know whether companies like Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc. use their dominance to squelch innovation. The House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee is holding a hearing Tuesday on the market power of the largest tech companies. Executives from Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Google and Facebook are testifying. Here’s the latest from the committee room:
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