Facebook has had a contentious relationship with Brazilian authorities, and its WhatsApp messenger has suffered multiple service bans for failing to cooperate. Two years ago, a court froze around $ 6 million of the company's cash after it didn't hand…
Facebook ran into trouble following its acquisition of WhatsApp back in 2014. It appeared to backtrack on an earlier promise not to share data between the two services, and was later warned that it may be breaking the law in the UK and elsewhere …
The Competition Commission of India (CCI), that country’s antitrust watchdog, has imposed a 1.36 billion-rupee ($ 21.17 million) fine on Google for what the organization is calling “search bias.” The fine is the end result of a probe that began in 2012, spurred by complaints filed by matchmaking service Bharat Matrimony and the non-profit Consumer Unity and Trust Society.
“Google was found to be indulging in practices of search bias and by doing so, it causes harm to its competitors as well as to users,” the CCI said in a written order, citing the prominent position of Google Flights in search results relating to air travel.
Google fined $ 21 million in India for ‘search bias’ was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
Android Police – Android news, reviews, apps, games, phones, tablets
Indian Antitrust watchdog has fined Google a Rs.135.86 ($ 21.17 million) over “search bias” and abuse of its dominant position. Competition Commission of India (CCI) says that Google; a part of Alphabet is abusing its dominance in online web search and online advertising markets. Furthermore, CCI said that it did not find any actions from Google’s that oppose the specialized search design, AdWords, and online distribution agreements. Commenting on the same, a Google spokesperson said that the company is reviewing the “narrow concerns” identified by the Commission and will assess its next step. Last year, the European Commission imposed a record 2.4 billion euro ($ 3 billion) fine on the company for somewhat similar where the company was found favoring its shopping service and demoting rival offerings. Google has appealed against the order. However, Google is found guilty of placing its commercial flight search function at a position that is favorable to it on the search results page which indirectly is causing damage to the businesses trying to gain market access. This ruling also put an end to the probe that was first started by the watchdog in 2012 based on the complaints filed by Bharat Matrimony; a matchmaking website and a not-for-profit organization, Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS). The …
Fone Arena
Remember that boring Apple vs. Qualcomm legal feud over chip royalties that escalated into a complex patent case last year? Well, things aren’t looking good for Qualcomm. Again.
The European Union has just announced sanctions against Qualcomm over the exclusive iPhone chip deal with Apple. The fine had a maximum $ 2 billion cap, but the EU was nicer than that, hitting Qualcomm with a $ 1.23 billion fine (€997 million).
This wouldn’t be Qualcomm’s first antitrust-related fine. Just in mid-October, the Taiwanese Fair Trade Commission slapped Qualcomm with a $ 773 million fine.
Before that, South Korean authorities fined Qualcomm $ 207 million (2014) and $ 854 million (2016). China’s antitrust regulator hit Qualcomm with a $ 975 fine in 2015.
A report from The Financial Times said the other day that the EU will issue its ruling on Wednesday, more than 30 months after the investigation into Qualcomm’s deal with Apple started. Qualcomm faced a fine of up to 10% of its annual business, or about $ 2 billion.
Lo and behold, that announcement came right on schedule. Here’s what Commissioner Margrethe Vestager had to say:
Qualcomm illegally shut out rivals from the market for LTE baseband chipsets for over five years, thereby cementing its market dominance. Qualcomm paid billions of US Dollars to a key customer, Apple, so that it would not buy from rivals. These payments were not just reductions in price – they were made on the condition that Apple would exclusively use Qualcomm’s baseband chipsets in all its iPhones and iPads.
This meant that no rival could effectively challenge Qualcomm in this market, no matter how good their products were. Qualcomm’s behavior denied consumers and other companies more choice and innovation – and this in a sector with a huge demand and potential for innovative technologies. This is illegal under EU antitrust rules and why we have taken today’s decision.
Qualcomm, unsurprisingly, said it will appeal the ruling. Here are comments from Don Rosenberg, executive vice president and general counsel of Qualcomm:
We are confident this agreement did not violate EU competition rules or adversely affect market competition or European consumers. We have a strong case for judicial review and we will immediately commence that process.
The EU fined Google a record $ 2.7 billion a few months ago, for abusing its dominant position in the online search business.
Apple meanwhile is seeking $ 1 billion from Qualcomm, rebates that the chipmaker reportedly withheld after supposedly discovering Apple’s role in a Korean antitrust investigation. In addition to that, each company filed additional patent suits last year.
Finally, Qualcomm also faces a similar investigation in the US, where the FTC is looking into Qualcomm’s allegedly abusive business deals.
The European Commission has fined chipmaker Qualcomm €997 million ($ 1.24 billion) for abusing its market dominance in LTE baseband chipsets. The decision comes as the result of an investigation covering the period from 2011 to 2016, during which Qualcomm paid Apple to exclusively use its LTE chips in iPhones and iPads.
“Qualcomm illegally shut out rivals from the market for LTE baseband chipsets for over five years, thereby cementing its market dominance.
Qualcomm fined €997 million for anticompetitive practices (again) by the EU was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
Android Police – Android news, reviews, apps, games, phones, tablets
Qualcomm was slapped with a 997 million ($ 1.2 billion) fine by the EU. The chipset company paid Apple to shun competitors between 2011 and 2016. According to the European Court, “billions of dollars” were involved in the deal for the 4G chips in iPhones and iPads. Margrethe Vestager, EU Competition Commissioner, said the deal meant that “no rival could effectively challenge Qualcomm in this market, no matter how good their products were”. The agreement between Qualcomm and Apple shut out mostly Intel, who supply iDevices since the launch of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Vestager…
The UK’s data watchdog has handed mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse a £400,000 fine — just shy of the £500k maximum the regulator can currently issue — for security failings attached to a 2015 hack that compromised the personal data of some three million customers and 1,000 employees. Read More
Mobile – TechCrunch
Skype today lost its appeal with a Belgian court which fined the company for not handing over user messages — which Skype says would have been effectively impossible. According to Belgian newspaper Het Belang Van Limburg (and thanks to a translation by The Register), Belgian authorities requested information from the company during a a 2012 investigation into a criminal organization which used Skype to communicate. It offered up metadata, but argued it couldn’t access the specific messages to give the police. The basis for the Belgian court’s complaint was that a national law requires telecoms companies to comply with data…
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