This tech sector antitrust/competition tracker, run by the Center for Transnational Law and Business, provides recent news and developments in competition policy and antitrust enforcement specific to the tech sector in different regions around the world.
Mar. 21, 2024
The US Justice Department and more than a dozen states filed a blockbuster antitrust lawsuit against Apple on Thursday, accusing the giant company of illegally monopolizing the smartphone market.
It’s the largest in a recent string of Big Tech companies to face antitrust complaints from the US government, which is cracking down on the massive industry, whose power has gone largely unchecked over the past several decades.
Mar. 18, 2024
Apple Inc. is in talks to build Google’s Gemini artificial intelligence engine into the iPhone, according to people familiar with the situation, setting the stage for a blockbuster agreement that would shake up the AI industry.
The two companies are in active negotiations to let Apple license Gemini, Google’s set of generative AI models, to power some new features coming to the iPhone software this year, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private. Apple also recently held discussions with OpenAI and has considered using its model, according to the people.
Mar. 18, 2024
Apple Inc. is in talks to build Google’s Gemini artificial intelligence engine into the iPhone, according to people familiar with the situation, setting the stage for a blockbuster agreement that would shake up the AI industry.
The two companies are in active negotiations to let Apple license Gemini, Google’s set of generative AI models, to power some new features coming to the iPhone software this year, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private. Apple also recently held discussions with OpenAI and has considered using its model, according to the people.
Mar. 13, 2024
The various antitrust complaints the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission have brought against Google, Amazon, and Facebook are based on monopolization claims under Section 2 of the Sherman Act. Herbert Hovenkamp explains why the government should also have relied on Section 1 of the Sherman Act and Section 7 of the Clayton Act to support their Big Tech cases.
Mar. 13, 2024
A U.S. government ban of TikTok could push users to figure out alternative ways to access the app, something that has become more common in other parts of the world as governments have instituted varying rules on tech companies.
On Wednesday, the House passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which would amount to a ban on TikTok unless TikTok’s parent company sells the app. The bill still needs to clear the Senate, but President Joe Biden said last week that he would sign it if it comes to his desk.
Mar. 8, 2024
The U.S. Senate late on Thursday confirmed by voice vote two nominees to fill Republican slots at the Federal Trade Commission.
President Joe Biden in July nominated Virginia Solicitor General Andrew Ferguson and Utah Solicitor General Melissa Holyoak to the five-member FTC.
The two Republicans will not change the balance of power at the FTC, which enforces antitrust law and rules against deceptive advertising, and currently has a Democratic chair, Lina Khan, and two Democratic commissioners.
Mar. 19, 2024
After years of negotiations, the European Union’s sprawling competition rule book fully took effect this month, taking scrutiny of the tech sector’s biggest companies to new heights.
Mar. 15, 2024
Alphabet unit Google enjoys a competitive edge in generative artificial intelligence due to its trove of data and AI-optimised chips, Microsoft has told EU antitrust regulators, underscoring the rivalry between the two tech giants.
The comments by Microsoft were in response to a consultation launched by the European Commission in January on the level of competition in generative AI.
Mar. 11, 2024
As the world's biggest tech companies revamp their core online services to comply with the European Union's landmark Digital Markets Act, the changes could give some smaller rivals and even peers a competitive edge.
The DMA is Europe's attempt to rein in Alphabet's Google, Amazon, Apple, TikTok owner ByteDance, Meta Platforms and Microsoft and create a level playing field for smaller rivals and ultimately more competition for Europeans.
Oct. 13, 2023
Enforcers in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa plan to coordinate antitrust investigations in the digital economy, a commissioner at Brazil’s competition authority has said.
Mar. 18, 2024
The Committee on Digital Competition Law in India recently released its report recommending that India too, like the European Union must have ex-ante regulations, in the context of digital competition. In its report, the Committee released the draft Digital Competition Bill, 2024. This move is aligned with global regulatory approaches to anti-trust practices in digital markets. But India’s approach remains more favorable to platforms than individual customers, speaking from a data point of view. In this post, I contour data related to anti-trust provisions applicable to digital markets of China-European Union-India, to drive home India’s industry-friendly countenance.
Stressing the importance of more active policy alternatives for the digital economy, he shared four key tasks for this year -- establishing a fair-trade order that supports the dynamic economy, establishing a stable trade foundation for small and medium-sized enterprises, creating a transaction environment that safeguards consumer interests, and establishing reasonable regulations for large business groups.
Mar. 18, 2024
Apple is the latest tech giant to oppose the introduction of ex-ante regulations in India within the framework of the proposed digital competition law, echoing its resistance to EU's Digital Market Act (DMA) that came into effect earlier this month.
Mar. 15, 2024
Competition policy issues in the global digital markets and consequences of damage in digital mergers were discussed by the participants of the Competition Open Day of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris. Zhanar Adikova, Director of the Department for Competition and Public Procurement Policy of the Eurasian Economic Commission, took part in the event.
Mar. 14, 2024
Inexperience in policing the world’s most powerful tech companies will not hinder Japan’s Fair Trade Commission when it begins to enforce a new regulatory regime for digital markets, an agency commissioner has said.
Mar. 13, 2024
Big Tech firms including Google, Amazon and Apple are likely to come under greater scrutiny with regard to their market practices with the firming up of the draft Bill on the Digital Competition Bill. The ministry of corporate affairs has sought public comments on the proposed legislation that has called for ex-ante measures specifically applicable to large digital enterprises, to supplement the Competition Act. Companies that are found to be in breach of competition laws can be fined as much as 10% of their global turnover and face imprisonment of three years.
Sep. 5, 2023
The Competition Commission today gazetted the final terms of reference for its Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry, which will investigate the distribution of media content on South Africa’s digital platforms and the advertising technology markets that connect buyers and sellers of digital advertising.
