Antitrust

A judge has granted Google's request for a temporary court order that puts a freeze on a contract the U.S. Interior Department planned to award to Microsoft for an e-mail system.

U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Susan Braden cited deficiencies in the procurement process for the $49.3 million contract, according to the 27-page court decision unsealed yesterday and reported on by Bloomberg today.

"Without a preliminary injunction, the award will put into motion the final migration of Interior's e-mail system, achieve 'organizational lock-in' for Microsoft, and cost Google the opportunity to compete," … Read more

The Federal Communications Commission is a step closer to approving the $37 billion joint venture between Comcast and General Electric's NBC Universal.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski gave his blessing today to the new joint venture, which was announced a year ago. He circulated an order among the four other FCC commissioners stating that he believes the venture, which will be controlled by cable giant Comcast, will be in the public interest, paving the way for the full FCC to approve the marriage between the two companies.

That full FCC approval isn't expected until January. The deal must also … Read more

Comcast today said its proposed deal to acquire control of General Electric's NBC Universal won't get regulatory approval by the end of the year, as the company had hoped.

The cable giant issued a statement saying that even though the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice have made "substantial progress toward approval," it simply doesn't have enough time this year to complete the transaction, which was announced at the end of 2009.

"Because of the lead time required to prepare for a close, it now appears that we will not be able to … Read more

Intel has received a thumb's up from the Federal Trade Commission for its proposed purchase of McAfee.

The chipmaker confirmed the news yesterday in a note on its Investor Relations site, announcing that the Federal Trade Commission has finished its review of the deal and has cleared it.

In August, Intel broke the news of its decision to buy the security vendor for $7.68 billion--the biggest acquisition in its 42-year history. Intel sees McAfee as a way to gain a greater foothold into a growing market of security-conscious businesses and consumers.

The FTC's approval of the deal … Read more

The public spat between Level 3 Communications and Comcast continues, as Level 3 now urges federal regulators to impose conditions on Comcast's merger with NBC Universal.

On Thursday evening, Level 3 sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission and U.S. Department of Justice, asking the agencies to impose conditions on Comcast's impending merger that would require Comcast to allow Level 3 and other Internet backbone providers to interconnect their networks with Comcast's network for free. The company also asked that Comcast be required to connect to Internet backbone providers "on nondiscriminatory, fair, and reasonable … Read more

The European Commission announced today that it's opening an investigation of Google over alleged antitrust practices in the European Union.

The probe was triggered by complaints from three search providers, which claim that Google has stifled them by unfairly manipulating certain factors related to both unpaid and paid search results.

The search providers leveling the charges are Foundem, a U.K. price comparison site; ejustice.fr, a French legal search engine; and Ciao, a U.K. search engine owned by Microsoft. These three Web sites offer vertical search services, which means they provide users with specific online information, such … Read more

Some of the largest tech companies are reportedly close to settling allegations that they colluded to keep down wages through no-poaching agreements, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Apple, Adobe Systems, Google, Intel, Intuit, and Pixar are reportedly looking to settle the allegations to avoid a courtroom face-off with the Justice Department. The companies have been trying to persuade the government that nonpoaching agreements are not anticompetitive because they help ensure that employees can work on projects with other firms without fear of being stolen away.

The DOJ asserts that such agreements can hurt employees by limiting their ability to … Read more

Google is facing regulatory challenges from the Justice Department over its proposed purchase of online travel firm ITA Software.

The search giant must obtain government approval of its $700 million deal announced in early July to buy ITA Software, which helps travelers find cheaper airfares through relationships with major carriers, travel agencies, and travel search engines. Google wants to incorporate ITA's technology into its own search engine to make it easier for people to find tickets directly through Google.

But the Justice Department is concerned that a Google-owned ITA could give Google too much control over the online travel … Read more

Updated 1:55 p.m. PDT with additional information and background material.

Google will face an antitrust investigation in Texas over charges that it manipulated search results, in what appears to a similar case to one pending in Europe.

Google confirmed an earlier report by Search Engine Land Friday after the close of the stock market that Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has contacted it in connection with an "antitrust review" of Google's business practices. Earlier this year, European regulators opened an investigation regarding claims by a Microsoft-friendly price-comparison site called Foundem that Google was downranking Foundem … Read more