antitrust

FCC: Ready for reform yet?

commentary In a surprising and disturbing break with long-standing agency practice, the FCC on Tuesday released a draft report on the proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile prepared by its staff--days after the parties withdrew their application with the agency.

The move could fuel calls for serious reform of the agency's increasingly free-wheeling behavior.

The two companies withdrew their application on Thanksgiving, following word that FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski planned to ask the other commissioners to refer the merger to an administrative judge for a hearing.

That step, agency officials made clear, signaled the chairman's belief … Read more

AT&T hopes Leap deal will enable T-Mobile buy: report

AT&T's foundering bid to acquire T-Mobile could hinge on a last-minute deal with a second-tier wireless operator, Leap Wireless, to try to allay regulators' antitrust concerns.

That's according to a New York Times report last night, which said AT&T is "knee deep" in talks that would mean both T-Mobile customers and wireless spectrum would be sold to Leap.

Leap is one of a handful of players that might be interested in T-Mobile assets, my colleague Maggie Reardon reports in her FAQ about AT&T's troubles trying to buy T-Mobile. Leap … Read more

South Korea fines six LCD makers for price fixing

South Korea's antitrust watchdog has fined six LCD makers $176 million for conspiring to artificially inflate prices for flat-screen monitors.

Samsung Electronics and LG Display were among the companies that colluded from 2001 to 2006 to control the prices of panels for TVs and personal computers, the Fair Trade Commission said. The cartel, which also includes AU Optronics, Chimei Innolux, Chunghwa Picture Tubes, and HannStar Display, held 200 secret meetings to discuss cutting or suspending production to prevent prices from declining, the FTC said.

"They colluded on minimum prices of panels, pricing policies on each product type, timing … Read more

DOJ asks Google for more data about Motorola deal

Google today acknowledged receiving a so-called "second request" from the Justice Department for information as it considers the search giant's plans to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion.

Google made the disclosure in a blog post this afternoon, saying the request was for "more information" in order to continue the review.

"While this means we won't be closing right away, we're confident that the DOJ will conclude that the rapidly growing mobile ecosystem will remain highly competitive after this deal closes," Google Senior Vice President Dennis Woodside wrote in the … Read more

Senate notes: Schmidt's Apple plug, Google piracy issues

WASHINGTON--Google and Apple are supposed to be at each others' throats, but apparently Eric Schmidt still has Apple's back.

Minutes prior to testifying on Wednesday before a Senate subcommittee investigating whether Google stifles competition, Google's chairman sat down at the witness table to allow himself to be photographed. As cameras clicked, Schmidt decided to open a laptop.

The computer was a MacBook Air.

One of the leaders of one of the most powerful Internet companies was about to be given the third degree by U.S. lawmakers and he's making sure that he's photographed trusting his … Read more

AT&T antitrust case gets February trial date

Those last-ditch efforts that AT&T reportedly attempted in order to save its proposed bid for T-Mobile don't look to have paid off.

U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle has assigned a February 13 start date for a nonjury trial to decide whether AT&T's proposed merger with T-Mobile, which would make AT&T the largest nationwide carrier, would violate antitrust laws.

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against AT&T at the end of August with the purpose of blocking the merger, as the DOJ reasoned that such a behemoth of a … Read more

Google 'rigs' search results, rivals tell senators

Moments after Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt told senators "we get it" in regard to regulatory scrutiny, the search giant's rivals refuted the point.

"Google doesn't get it," said Thomas O. Barnett, a lawyer for Expedia, which fought Google's acquisition of flight data provider ITA Software. "Google won't even admit reality."

Barnett said the company is expanding its market power, growing in mobile phones and mobile search, in particular. And it's using that power to direct users to its services, rather than penalizing rivals who are direct competitors.

Some … Read more

Google gets antitrust scrutiny in Congress (roundup)

Eric Schmidt and Google rivals go before Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee as that panel looks to determine whether Google abuses its power in online search.

Mimes aren't silent in Capitol Hill attack on Google Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt testifies to a Senate subcommittee on antitrust that the search giant learned the lessons from the software giant's tangle with trustbusters a decade ago. • Photos: Mimes spy to protest Google (Posted in Media Maverick by Greg Sandoval) September 21, 2011 12:53 p.m. PT

Schmidt's rope-a-dope: One for the record books You had to … Read more

Mimes aren't silent in Capitol Hill attack on Google

WASHINGTON, D.C.--Staffers in the U.S. Senate were spied on today, but not by any one of our country's enemies. They were tailed by that most unholy of creatures: the mime.

To illustrate Google's alleged data-collection abuses, Consumer Watchdog, a vocal advocacy group and longtime Google critic hired a group of mimes to playfully spy on Senate staffers and visitors around the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Dressed in matching track suits with the words "Google Track Team" and "Don't be evil," written on them, the mimes peered over people's shoulders … Read more