Tag: antitrust

Google Paid Billions to Make Play Store and Assistant Default Apps on Samsung Phones, Google Executive Says

Google paid Samsung billions of dollars in order to make the search giant’s app store, assistant, search engine, and other services the default options on smartphones made by the latter, according to information that has emerged during the ongoing Google vs Epic Games trial. On Monday, Google Vice President for Partnerships James Kolotouros revealed that the company signed deals with various smartphone manufacturers, including the South Korean tech conglomerate, to have the Google Play store installed out-of-the-box on Android phones.

Bloomberg reports that Kolotouros’ testimony during the ongoing Google vs Epic Games trial revealed that around half of Google’s Play Store revenue comes from customers who own Samsung devices. The executive also said that the company planned to create a system to split revenue from the Play Store with smartphone makers in exchange for having the firm’s apps preinstalled on their smartphones.

Under Google’s ‘Project Banyan’ initiative that began in 2019, the company planned to spend $200 million on a deal that would have Samsung distribute its Galaxy Store app via the Play Store, according to the report. While that deal did not work out, the company agreed to pay Samsung $8 billion (roughly Rs. 66,500 crore) over a period of four years to have the Play Store exist on Samsung phones alongside the smartphone maker’s app store.

On Tuesday, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai also testified that the search giant pays Apple 36 percent of Safari search revenue in exchange for its service being the default on the company’s smartphones. Epic’s attorney reportedly asked Pichai if the amount paid by Google to Apple was higher than what it paid Samsung, and the CEO stated that it was possible but added that it was like comparing apples and oranges.

The ongoing Google vs Epic trial has seen the latter produce several pieces of evidence as it tries to build a case against the search giant’s app store. Epic alleges that Google made the deals to protect its Play Store operating profit that — estimated by the game publisher to be over $12 billion (roughly Rs. 99,700 crore) in 2021 — by preventing the spread of alternative, or third-party app stores.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Apple Filing Reveals iPhone Maker Expects to Change App Store Policy to Comply With EU Regulation

Apple expects it will be compelled to make changes to its App Store policies, as the firm must comply with the European Union’s new Digital Markets Act (DMA). The iPhone maker’s recent filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows the company expects to make policy changes related to applications running on iOS and iPadOS, the company’s operating systems for iPhone and iPad, respectively. Until now, the EU has named seven major tech firms — including Apple — that will be governed under the new regulations.

TechCrunch reports that Apple, in its recent Form 10-K filing with the US SEC, states that it expects that it will have to make changes to the App Store in order to comply with the EU’s DMA regulation. The iPhone maker also said in the filing that it might also introduce other changes to its policies governing external app distribution, platform access charges for developers, and communications related to alternate billing systems.

According to the report, Morgan Stanley analysts have also written to clients that the change in Apple’s language suggests that the App Store policy changes — including allowing third party apps on devices in Europe — are likely to begin. The EU’s DMA regulations are expected to fully go into effect starting in 2024 and will impact companies that have a market valuation of EUR 75 million (roughly Rs. 670 crore) or 45 million monthly active users (MAUs) living in the EU.

Last year, Bloomberg reported that Apple was already preparing its systems to allow alternative app stores on iPhone and iPad, as the company would have to comply with the incoming EU regulations aimed at checking the power of Big Tech firms.

If the mandatory App Store distribution limit is lifted, developers might be able to sidestep Apple’s up-to-30 percent commission charged on all App Store transactions. In the US, Apple has fought — and largely won — an antitrust trial against Fortnite maker Epic Games after it booted the developer for flouting its App Store policies. 

Apple is not the only Big Tech firm that will be impacted by the EU’s DMA rules when they go into effect in 2024. The new rules require tech firms to allow users to easily change default settings, sideload apps outside the default app store, and allow users of major messaging platforms to chat with each other, while allowing smaller platforms to also access core features and functionality.

According to Bloomberg, the changes being developed by the company will only go into effect in the EU for the foreseeable future, but the move could lead to the company opening up its systems in other regions, if legislation or regulation related to limiting the reach of Big Tech firms is passed in other regions.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Broadcom Said to Gain Conditional EU Antitrust Approval for VMware Deal

US chipmaker Broadcom is set to gain conditional EU antitrust approval for its $61 billion (nearly Rs. 5,03,000 crore) proposed acquisition of cloud computing firm VMware, people familiar with the matter said, sending its shares up by almost 5 percent.

The European Commission’s clearance is tied to remedies relating to Broadcom’s interoperability with rivals that would address competition concerns, the people said.

Both the EU antitrust watchdog, which is scheduled to decide on the deal by July 17, and Broadcom declined to comment.

Broadcom shares rose as much as 5 percent in early trade and were up 4.9 percent at evening. VMware was up 2.7 percent.

One of the remedies focuses on Fibre Channel Host-Bus Adapters (FC HBAs) and is targeted at rival Marvell Technology, one of the people said. Marvell Technology did not respond to a request for comment.

FC HBAs are storage adapters that connect servers to storage located outside the server on a storage-area network using the fiber channel protocol, typically through a switch. Broadcom is a leading supplier of FC HBAs.

Broadcom’s other key hurdle is in Britain where the British competition agency will next month announce its provisional findings about the deal and possible remedies if required.

Companies have become more wary about the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) after it blocked Microsoft’s Activision deal while the EU cleared it.

The US Federal Trade Commission is also investigating Broadcom’s VMware acquisition.

Broadcom, which supplies chips used in data centres for networking and specialised chips that speed up AI work, announced the deal, its biggest, last year to diversify into enterprise software.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

Apple’s annual developer conference is just around the corner. From the company’s first mixed reality headset to new software updates, we discuss all the things we’re looking forward to seeing at WWDC 2023 on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan Met EU’s Antitrust Chief to Discuss Microsoft’s Activision Deal

Sony’s gaming chief Jim Ryan met EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager on Wednesday to discuss Microsoft’s $69 billion (about Rs. 5,62,647 crore) bid for Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The meeting came as the EU competition watchdog prepares to warn Microsoft this week about the potential anti-competitive effects of the US software giant and Xbox maker’s acquisition in the biggest gaming industry deal in history.

Microsoft is looking to Activision to help it compete better with leaders Tencent and Sony. The latter has criticised the deal and even called for a regulatory veto.

The person declined to provide details of the discussion between Ryan and Vestager. The European Commission, which is scheduled to rule on the deal by April 11, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The US Federal Trade Commission has sued to block the deal while UK regulators have also expressed concerns, arguing it would give Microsoft’s Xbox exclusive access to Activision games, leaving Nintendo consoles and Sony’s PlayStation out in the cold.

An earlier report suggested that Microsoft argued that the deal would benefit gamers and gaming companies alike, offering to sign a legally binding consent decree with the FTC to provide Call of Duty games to rivals including Sony for a decade.

Michael Chappell, the FTC administrative law judge, will rule on the deal after hearings set for August 2023.

The deal currently faces scrutiny in the European Union which is to decide by March 23 whether to clear or block the deal.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

 

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Featured video of the day

CES 2023: LG’s Transparent And Bendable TVs, Ultralight Laptops, And More

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Google Announces Sweeping Changes for Android Device Makers in India After Supreme Court Upholds CCI Order

Google said on Wednesday it will allow device makers in India to license its individual apps for pre-installation and give an option to users to choose their default search engine, announcing sweeping changes to how its Android system operates.

The move comes after the country’s Supreme Court upheld stringent antitrust directives last week, rejecting a Google challenge against a Competition Commission of India ruling that said the company abused its market position, ordering it to change how it markets its Android system in a key growth market.

“Implementation of these changes across the ecosystem will be a complex process and will require significant work at our end and, in many cases, significant efforts from partners, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and developers,” Google said in a blog post.

Google had been concerned about India’s decision as the steps are seen as more sweeping than those imposed in the European Commission’s landmark 2018 ruling against Android.

About 97 percent of 600 million smartphones in India run on Android, while in Europe, the system accounts for 75 percent of the 550 million smartphones, according to Counterpoint Research estimates.

The CCI ruled in October that Google, owned by Alphabet, exploited its dominant position in Android and told it to remove restrictions on device makers, including those related to pre-installation of apps and ensuring exclusivity of its search. It also fined Google $161 million (roughly Rs. 1,300 crore).

Hoping to block the implementation of the CCI directives, Google had approached the Supreme Court, warning that growth of its Android ecosystem will stall. It said it would be forced to alter arrangements with more than 1,100 device manufacturers and thousands of app developers if the directives kick in.

But the Supreme Court did not agree to block the directives as Google sought. The court had also said a lower tribunal – where Google first challenged the Android directives – can continue to hear the company’s appeal and must rule by March 31.

“We continue to respectfully appeal certain aspects of the CCI’s decisions,” Google said.

The US search giant also said it is updating the Android compatibility requirements to introduce changes for partners to build non-compatible variants of Android.

In Europe, Google was fined for putting in place what the Commission called unlawful restrictions on Android mobile device makers. Google is still challenging the record $4.3 billion (roughly Rs. 35,100) fine in that case.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

CCI Denies Google Allegations That It ‘Copy-Pasted’ EU’s Antitrust Order on Android

The Competitions Commission of India on Thursday denied allegations by Google that investigators had “copy-pasted” parts of a European ruling against the US firm for abusing the market dominance of its Android platform.

“We have not cut, copy and paste,” N Venkataraman, a government lawyer representing the Competition Commission of India (CCI), told the top court.

The comments came at a hearing in India’s Supreme Court, where Google is seeking to block the CCI ruling.

Google had argued in its legal filings, seen by Reuters, that CCI’s investigation unit “copy-pasted extensively from a European Commission decision, deploying evidence from Europe that was not examined in India”.

“There are more than 50 instances of copypasting”, in some cases “word-for-word”, Google said. The European Commission has not responded to a request for comment on the allegation.

The CCI has fined Alphabet Inc-owned Google $161 million (roughly Rs. 1300 crore) for exploiting its dominant position in Android, which powers 97 percent of smartphones in India, and asked it to change restrictions imposed on smartphone makers related to pre-installing apps.

Google had challenged the directive saying it would hurt consumers and also its business, warning the growth of the Android ecosystem will stall if the far-reaching measures were to be implemented.

During Thursday’s hearing, Google’s counsel repeatedly pressed judges to put CCI ruling on hold, saying it is pro-competition and does not abuse its market position. The judges are yet to reach a decision.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Apple Faces Investigation Into MercadoLibre Complaint Over App Store Monopoly in Brazil

Brazil’s antitrust watchdog CADE has begun investigating a complaint by e-commerce retailer MercadoLibre Inc against Apple Inc for alleged abuse of a monopoly in the distribution of apps for its devices, the regulator said on Wednesday.

The decision to open the investigation into alleged anti-competitive practices by Apple was taken last week based on the complaint filed in December by MercadoLibre, CADE said in a statement.

“Similar investigations are being conducted by antitrust authorities in other jurisdictions,” the watchdog said.

MercadoLibre argued that Apple had imposed a series of restrictions on the distribution of digital goods and in-app purchases.

The South American company criticized the California tech giant for requiring developers who offer digital goods or services within apps to use Apple’s own payment system and stopping them from redirecting buyers to their websites.

MercadoLibre filed its complaint in Brazil and also Mexico.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Apple’s policies have been challenged in nearly every corner of the world over the past few years.

In a U.S. court trial over similar allegations, a judge found that Apple had not violated antitrust law in part because its rules led to security benefits for users that outweighed any harm to appmakers. But the ruling is being appealed and a global resolution on the issue appears distant.

CADE said antitrust cases against Apple are underway around the world, including in the European Union, Britain, South Korea, Japan, India and Indonesia.

Nasdaq-listed MercadoLibre is one of Latin America’s largest companies, with a market capitalization of $53.82 billion (roughly Rs. 437900 crore), according to Refinitiv data.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Microsoft Activision Takeover: No ‘Substantive’ Settlement Talks With US FTC, Lawyer Says

There are no “substantive” settlement discussions under way between US President Joe Biden’s administration and Microsoft to resolve a legal dispute over the Xbox maker’s $69 billion (roughly Rs. 5,71,900 crore) bid for games maker Activision Blizzard, a Federal Trade Commission attorney said on Tuesday.

The FTC, which enforces antitrust law, asked a judge to block the transaction in early December, arguing it would give Microsoft’s Xbox exclusive access to Activision games, leaving Nintendo consoles and Sony’s PlayStation out in the cold.

FTC attorney James Weingarten, speaking in a brief telephonic pretrial hearing, said there were no “substantive” settlement discussions between the two sides under way.

Microsoft argues that the deal would benefit gamers and gaming companies alike, offering to sign a legally binding consent decree with the FTC to provide Call of Duty games to rivals including Sony for a decade.

The case reflects the muscular approach to antitrust enforcement being taken by the administration of US President Joe Biden. But antitrust experts say the FTC faces an uphill battle to convince a judge to block the deal, because of the voluntary concessions offered by Microsoft to allay fears it could dominate the gaming market.

Michael Chappell, the FTC administrative law judge, will rule on the deal after hearings set for August 2023. Either side can then appeal to the same FTC commissioners who voted to bring the challenge, and then to a U.S. appeals court.

The deal faces scrutiny in the European Union which is to decide by March 23 whether to clear or block the deal.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Catch the latest from the Consumer Electronics Show on Gadgets 360, at our CES 2023 hub.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Google to Face Class Action Lawsuit of 21 Million Individuals Over Play Store Competition

A US judge in California on Monday allowed litigation against Alphabet’s Google to proceed as a consumer class action of 21 million individuals who accuse the company of violating US anti-competition laws in how it runs its Google Play app store.

US District Judge James Donato said in a 27-page order that the plaintiffs had established the legal elements of “commonality” and other factors to form a class action that alleges anticompetitive business practices.

The class members are Google Play Store individual consumers in 12 states, including Ohio, Michigan and Georgia, in addition to American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

The case is among an array of pending antitrust actions against Google, and state prosecutors in more than three dozen other states lodged similar claims against Google last year. The plaintiffs’ lawyers in the newly certified class action are jointly working with those state enforcers.

Nationwide, plaintiffs have identified aggregate damages of $4.7 billion (roughly Rs. 38,400 crore).

Google has defended its Play Store business practices, denying the claims in the case before Donato and others.

A spokesperson for Google said on Monday: “We’re evaluating the ruling, and after that, we’ll assess our options.”

Lawyers for the company at US law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius on Monday did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

In arguing against class-action certification, attorneys for Google said the plaintiffs failed to show how they were harmed, an argument that Donato rejected.

A lead attorney for the class at plaintiffs’ firm Bartlit Beck declined to comment.

The class attorneys allege among other things that Google prohibited app developers from steering customers to competitors and used “misleading warnings to deter customers from downloading apps outside the Google Play Store.”

They claimed that “but for Google’s anticompetitive conduct, plaintiffs and class members would have paid lower prices for apps and in-app purchases and would have benefited from expanded choice.”

A trial is scheduled to begin in June 2023.

© Thomson Reuters 2022

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Microsoft’s Incentives to Block Rivals After Activision Deal Probed by EU Regulators: Details

EU antitrust regulators are asking games developers whether Microsoft will be incentivised to block rivals’ access to Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard’s best-selling games, according to an EU document seen by Reuters. EU antitrust regulators are due to make a preliminary decision by November 8 on whether to clear Microsoft’s proposed $69 billion (roughly Rs. 5,67,600 crore) acquisition of Activision.

The EU competition enforcer also asked if Activision’s trove of user data would give the US software giant a competitive advantage in the development, publishing and distribution of computer and console games, the EU document shows.

The planned acquisition, the biggest in the gaming industry, will help Microsoft better compete with leaders Tencent and Sony.

After its decision next month, the European Commission is expected to open a four-month long investigation, underscoring regulatory concerns about Big Tech acquisitions.

Games developers, publishers and distributors were asked whether the deal would affect their bargaining power regarding the terms for selling console and PC games via Microsoft’s Xbox and its cloud game streaming service Game Pass.

Regulators also wanted to know if there would be sufficient alternative suppliers in the market following the deal and also in the event Microsoft decides to make Activision’s games exclusively available on its Xbox, its Games Pass and its cloud game streaming services.

They asked if such exclusivity clauses would reinforce Microsoft’s Windows operating system versus rivals, and whether the addition of Activision to its PC operating system, cloud computing services and game-related software tools gives it an advantage in the video gaming industry.

They asked how important the Call of Duty franchise is for distributors of console games, third-party multi-game subscription services on computers and providers of cloud game streaming services.

The questionnaire, with about 100 questions, asked which of the rivals such as Nvidia’s GeForce Now, Sony’s PlayStation, Google Stadia, Amazon Luna and Facebook Gaming could be considered the most attractive following the deal.

Respondents have until October 10 to reply.

© Thomson Reuters 2022

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Exit mobile version