Nvidia has benefitted hugely from the AI boom, with share prices going through the roof as a result of vast chip sales. Now, the US Department of Justice has raised some concerns around Nvidia's dominance in the AI chip market. As reported by The Information, the DOJ is said to …
Read More »Judge approves Wolfire’s antitrust lawsuit against Valve over Steam ‘monopoly’
Back in April 2021, Wolfire Games filed an antitrust lawsuit against Valve, claiming that the company abuses its dominance of the PC gaming market and has formed a monopoly with Steam. Valve had initially managed to get the lawsuit dismissed late last year, but after reviewing Wolfire's appeal, a judge …
Read More »Nvidia scraps plans to acquire Arm due to ‘regulatory challenges’
Nvidia has officially given up on its plan to acquire fellow chip maker Arm for a record-setting $40 billion. Arm parent company, SoftBank, announced that the deal has been scrapped this week following "significant regulatory challenges".
Read More »FTC to hold antitrust review of Microsoft’s $70 billion Activision Blizzard acquisition
Sony's newly announced acquisition of Bungie isn't the merger making headlines this week. Microsoft's recent deal with Activision Blizzard is now back in the news, as the FTC reveals plans to review the deal on antitrust grounds. As reported by Bloomberg, the US Federal Trade Commission is conducting an antitrust …
Read More »Apple and Amazon fined over ‘anti-competitive collusion’
Apple is regularly in the news due to repeated antitrust violations. This time around, the company has been accused anti-competitive behaviour in Italy, with authorities also claiming collusion between Apple and Amazon to supress competition. As a result, both parties have been ordered to pay a $225 million fine. Italy's …
Read More »Wolfire’s monopoly lawsuit against Valve has been dismissed
Back in April, Wolfire Games filed an antitrust lawsuit against Valve, claiming that the company abuses its dominance of the PC gaming market and has formed a monopoly with Steam. It didn't take long for Valve to counter the suit with its own legal filing and now, the judge has …
Read More »Nvidia’s Arm acquisition could be delayed by China’s regulator
Nvidia's planned $40 billion acquisition of ARM is facing another challenge. Multiple regulatory bodies are currently investigating the deal to figure out whether or not it should be approved. Currently, Nvidia expects the deal to gain approval and go through in 2022, but it looks like China could hold the …
Read More »Valve counters Steam ‘monopoly’ lawsuit
Back in April, Wolfire Games filed an antitrust lawsuit against Valve, claiming that the company abuses its dominance of the PC gaming market and has formed a monopoly with Steam. Valve didn't respond at the time, but the company has now countered the lawsuit, asking for the court to dismiss …
Read More »Google faces US anti-trust lawsuit over Play Store policies
Google has faced plenty of anti-trust complaints over the years, with most recent cases centring around the Google Play Store and its policies for app developers. Now, an antitrust lawsuit is being levied against Google, backed by 36 US states, including Washington DC. The lawsuit takes aim at Google's policy …
Read More »EU and UK begin antitrust investigations into Facebook Marketplace
The European Commission and the UK are launching separate investigations into Facebook citing antitrust concerns over the Facebook Marketplace and the company's use of classified advertisements on the platform. In particular, regulators are concerned that Facebook is unfairly using advertising data to distort competition. Speaking on the investigation, the European …
Read More »Amazon accused of illegally raising prices, faces antitrust lawsuit
Amazon is facing antitrust allegations again this week. This time around, a new lawsuit is alleging that Amazon unfairly raised prices and used anti-competitive business practices to supress competition from other stores. The lawsuit was filed by Washington DC Attorney General, Karl Racine, stating: “Amazon’s policies have prevented competing platforms, …
Read More »EU finds Apple in breach of competition law, sides with Spotify
Earlier this week, it was reported that the European Commission would bring antitrust charges against Apple soon for breaking competition laws. Now, everything is official, with the commission finding that Apple is “in breach of EU competition law” with its 30 percent revenue cut and other iOS policies. The EU …
Read More »Valve faces antitrust lawsuit over Steam ‘monopoly’
Wolfire Games, the studio behind games like Overgrowth, Receiver and the original creator of the Humble Bundle, has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Valve. The studio alleges that Valve abuses its dominance in the PC gaming market and suppresses competition. The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday this week in the …
Read More »Apple will reportedly face EU antitrust charges this week
The European Commission has launched several antitrust investigations against Apple over the years, including a big investigation over iOS App Store policies and Apple's 30 percent revenue cut. Now, Apple will reportedly face antitrust charges in the EU later this week. According to Financial Times (via The Verge), the European …
Read More »The FTC is dropping its case against Qualcomm after four-year legal battle
Back in 2017, Apple attempted to break away from Qualcomm, filing a $1 billion lawsuit and accusing the company of anti-competitive practices with its licensing agreements. Following Apple's lead, the FTC also filed a case against Qualcomm, alleging anti-competitive behaviour. Apple dropped its side of the legal battle in 2019 …
Read More »Epic Games files antitrust complaint against Apple in EU
As we all know, Epic Games and Apple aren't on the best of terms at the moment. Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Apple in the US last year over the company's App Store policies, which subsequently ended in Fortnite being removed from iOS. Since then, Epic has been filing …
Read More »The US Department of Justice begins antitrust legal battle against Google
Google has faced antitrust allegations all across the world, facing cases in Europe, Asia and other territories. Now, the US Department of Justice is also aiming at Google, filing a new antitrust lawsuit. The US DOJ says Google has an unfair monopoly over search and search-related advertising. Android is also …
Read More »European Commission opens antitrust investigations into Apple Pay and iOS App Store
Apple is under scrutiny once again in Europe due to its various business practises. This week, the European Commission opened up two separate antitrust investigations against Apple, one into the App Store and another into Apple Pay. The first investigation focuses on the App Store's 30% revenue cut on sales …
Read More »Google fights back against colossal €2.4 billion EU fine
Google has been battling with the EU for a few years now over various anti-trust concerns. At the moment, Google faces a hefty $2.6 billion (2.4 billion Euro) fine, which the company is still fighting. The fine was initially imposed back in 2017 and this week during a three-day hearing, Alphabet …
Read More »Valve to fight EU antitrust charges while other publishers settle
Back in April, we learned that the European Commission was investigating major game publishers and platform holders over content geo-blocking. Valve/Steam, Capcom, ZeniMax, Koch Media, Bandai Namco and Focus Home Interactive were all named as part of the antitrust investigation. Most of the publishers plan to settle in an effort …
Read More »Apple officially responds to Spotify’s EU antitrust complaint, defending iOS platform cut
Earlier this year, Spotify filed an antitrust complaint against Apple with the European Union, spurring an investigation into the platform cut Apple takes on purchases and subscriptions made through the iOS App Store. Apple has already explained its case in a public letter but now an official response has been …
Read More »Supreme Court rules ‘Apple Tax’ antitrust lawsuit can proceed
Apple is no stranger to lawsuits, whether they come from competing companies, former partners, or its very own customers. For a while now, one group of iOS users has been trying to push an antitrust lawsuit against Apple, on the grounds that Apple’s 30 percent App Store revenue cut results …
Read More »The EU will reportedly investigate Apple over Spotify’s anti-competitive complaint
Back in March, we learned that Spotify had filed a new complaint with the European Union's antitrust regulators, claiming that Apple's App Store rules were anti-competitive. Spotify publicised this by putting out the open letter ‘Time to Play Fair', which Apple swiftly responded to and tackled point by point. Now, …
Read More »EU Commission launches antitrust investigation into Valve and other publishers for geo-blocking
The European Commission tends to launch several large antitrust investigations each year. While most of the ones we report on tend to fall in the tech realm, this week, the EU is turning its attention to gaming. More specifically, the commission is investigating publishers and platform holders over content geo-blocking, …
Read More »Apple and Spotify set to butt heads over EU antitrust complaint
Earlier this week, Spotify filed a new complaint with the European Union's antitrust regulators. The complaint was levied at Apple, calling out the company's App Store tax, limitations placed on iOS developers, app update approval process and more. Apple has since responded, stating that Spotify “wants all the benefits of …
Read More »Google’s response to EU Android ruling is to charge OEMs a license fee
Earlier this year, the European Commission planted a record breaking $5 billion fine on Google over antitrust charges. The EU took issue with Google's use of pre-installed apps and services on Android smartphones, which stops consumers from seeking out alternatives and thus prevents competitors from rising up. Google is appealing …
Read More »European Commission fines Asus, Philips and more for antitrust violations
Back in early 2017, the European Commission began investigating several hardware companies for price fixing, including ASUS, Philips, Pioneer and Denon & Marantz. Now that investigation has come to a close, with €111 million in fines being handed down. The European Commission announced today that it has issued fines in …
Read More »Google could possibly receive another record-breaking EU fine for Android antitrust violations
Following on from the European Commission fining Google a record-breaking €2.42 billion over its Shopping search engine last year, the tech giant found itself under investigation for antitrust allegations against Android. The decision of the case is expected to be revealed next month, however Google could be breaking records once …
Read More »Qualcomm hit with €997 million for EU antitrust law violations in exclusivity deal with Apple
Qualcomm has had a rough year when it comes to antitrust claims and government investigations. Not only is the chip maker being sued by Apple and investigated by the FTC over in the US, but the European Commission had also launched its own anti-competition probe into Qualcomm. Now today, the …
Read More »Taiwan Fair Trade Commission fines Qualcomm over $700 million
Qualcomm has been fighting various antitrust charges over the last couple of years. At first, the company was fined $975 million in China, then in 2016 regulators in South Korea fined the company over $850 million. The European Union has ruled against Qualcomm in an antitrust case and now, the …
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