Business Insider: Turkey to investigate whether Google violated competition law. “Turkey’s competition authority said on Monday it had launched an investigation into whether internet search engine Google broke competition law with algorithms it uses for searches and to target advertisements.”
antitrust
CNN: The case for why Big Tech is violating antitrust laws
CNN: The case for why Big Tech is violating antitrust laws. “Big Tech is behaving badly. And I’m not talking about Facebook handing over your personal data to the highest bidder or Amazon playing puppeteer in its HQ2 charade. Big Tech is violating the Sherman Act of 1890. If you think an antitrust law passed over a century ago couldn’t possibly address the problems of the digital era, you’re wrong. Much like our Constitution, the Sherman Act was written broadly enough to handle whatever the future might hold.”
Bloomberg Quint: Google Foes Get Chance to Pick Holes in $2.7 Billion EU Appeal
Bloomberg Quint: Google Foes Get Chance to Pick Holes in $2.7 Billion EU Appeal. “Some of Google’s oldest foes have been given the chance to take a swipe at the U.S. giant’s appeal of a $2.7 billion European Union antitrust fine for choking competition for shopping-search services. The EU’s General Court said European consumer group BEUC, German magazine publishers and Foundem — the first company to complain to the EU about how Google treats shopping rivals — can all intervene in the case because they have a direct interest in the result. The decisions dated Dec. 17 were published online.”
Reuters: Does Google harm local search rivals? EU antitrust regulators ask
Reuters: Does Google harm local search rivals? EU antitrust regulators ask. “EU antitrust regulators have asked Google’s rivals if the internet search giant unfairly demotes local search competitors, according to a questionnaire seen by Reuters, a move which could lead to a fourth case against the Alphabet (GOOGL.O) unit.”
Ars Technica: Newly elected Republican senator could be Google’s fiercest critic
Ars Technica: Newly elected Republican senator could be Google’s fiercest critic. “Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley’s defeat of Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill in the 2018 midterm elections earlier this month was a big deal from almost any point of view. Missouri was a pivotal swing state in the battle for the Senate, and Hawley’s victory helped Republicans expand their slim Senate majority. But Hawley’s victory is an ominous sign for one company in particular: Google. Hawley campaigned as an antagonist to big technology companies in general and Google in particular.”
AFP: EU turns eye to ‘fake’ Google shopping rivals
AFP: EU turns eye to ‘fake’ Google shopping rivals. “The EU’s top competition enforcer said Brussels was taking a closer look at allegations that Google had helped introduce false price comparison sites to answer a historic ruling against the search engine giant.”
Techdirt: Leading Open Access Supporters Ask EU To Investigate Elsevier’s Alleged ‘Anti-Competitive Practices’
Techdirt: Leading Open Access Supporters Ask EU To Investigate Elsevier’s Alleged ‘Anti-Competitive Practices’. “Back in the summer, we wrote about the paleontologist Jon Tennant, who had submitted a formal complaint to the European Commission regarding the relationship between the publishing giant Elsevier and the EU’s Open Science Monitor. Now Tennant has joined with another leading supporter of open access, Björn Brembs, in an even more direct attack on the company and its practices, reported here by the site Research Europe…”
