European Union accuses Facebook owner Meta of breaking digital rules with paid ad-free option
European Union regulators have accused social media company Meta Platforms of breaching the blocโs new digital competition rulebook by forcing Facebook and Instagram users to choose between seeing ads or paying to avoid them.
Apple, Google, Meta targeted under new European law meant to prevent cornering of digital markets
European Union regulators have opened investigations into Apple, Google and Meta, in the first cases under a sweeping new law designed to stop Big Tech companies from cornering digital markets that took effect earlier this month.
Broadcom's $61 billion deal to buy VMware gets cleared by European Union regulators
Computer chip and software maker Broadcomโs $61 billion proposed purchase of cloud technology company VMware got the green light from European Union regulators who were satisfied by concessions to ease competition fears.
EU approves more state aid to boost car batteries industry
European Commissioner for Europe fit for the Digital Age Margrethe Vestager speaks during a news conference on European project in battery value chain at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels,Tuesday, Jan. 26. Called the โEuropean Battery Innovation," the project will allow non-European businesses such as Tesla to benefit from EU investment. โThanks to its focus on a next generation of batteries, this strong pan-European project will help revolutionize the battery market," EU commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic said. Sefcovic said the EU intends to develop a battery industry capable of powering at least six million electric cars each year by 2025. โThe public has to benefit from its investment, which is why companies receiving aid have to generate positive spillover effects across the EU.โ
EU fines drug makers for keeping cheap medicine off market
European Executive Vice- President Margrethe Vestager speaks during a media conference regarding an antitrust case at EU headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020. The European Union has fined two pharmaceutical companies for colluding to keep a cheap alternative to a sleep disorder medicine off the market for their profit and at the expense of patients. (Johanna Geron, Pool via AP)The European Union has fined two pharmaceutical companies for colluding to keep a cheap alternative to a sleep disorder medicine off the market for their profit and at the expense of patients. Vestager said that โTevaโs and Cephalonโs pay-for-delay agreement harmed patients and national health systems, depriving them of more affordable medicines." A cheap alternative would have had a serious impact on the company, and the EU argued that Cephalon enticed Teva in 2005 to stay out of its market.
EU move vs Amazon is latest in string of tech crackdowns
___AMAZONNovember 2020: The EU Commission files charges against Amazon accusing it of using internal data from independent merchants on its platform to unfairly compete against them with its own products. ___APPLEJune 2020: EU Commission opens two investigations into Appleโs mobile app store and payment platform over concerns its practices distort competition by limiting choice and innovation and keeping prices high. ___FACEBOOK2019: The EU Commission launches a preliminary investigation into Facebook's data practices, focusing on how data is gathered, processed, used and monetized including for advertising. 2019: EU Commission fines Google 1.49 billion euros for freezing out rivals in the online advertising business. 2018: EU Commission fines Google 4.34 billion euros for forcing smartphone makers that use its Android operating system to install Google search and browser apps.
EU files antitrust charges against Amazon over use of data
European Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager speaks during a press conference regarding an antitrust case with Amazon at EU headquarters in Brussels, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020. European Union regulators have filed antitrust charges against Amazon, accusing the e-commerce giant of using data to gain an unfair advantage over merchants using its platform. Margrethe Vestager, the EU commissioner in charge of competition issues, has slapped Google with antitrust fines totaling nearly $10 billion and opened twin antitrust investigations this summer into Apple. Under EU rules, it can reply to the charges in writing and present its case in an oral hearing. It could still be a while before a final decision as there are no deadlines for bringing an EU antitrust case to an end.
EU digital boss: New rules to curb big tech aim for fairness
Tech companies will be banned from giving their own products more prominence in search results. Big tech companies will also have to make it easier for users to switch platforms, or to use more than one online service, she said. EU regulators have been concerned that some companies can monopolize a market by cornering all its users and data -- the lifeblood of the digital economy. Proper enforcement is also important, and the draft proposals call for better cooperation among national authorities in the EU. โAnd it will give the EU power to step in, when we need to, to enforce the rules against very large platforms,โ Vestager said.
EU Commission appeals after losing Apple $15B tax case
The EU Commission โrespectfully considers that in its judgment the General Court has made a number of errors of law. For this reason, the Commission is bringing this matter before the European Court of Justice," the bloc's highest court, Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said. The EU Commission had ordered Apple to pay for gross underpayment of tax on profits across the European bloc from 2003 to 2014. The commission said Apple used two shell companies in Ireland to report its Europe-wide profits at effective rates well under 1%. Apple said the case was never about how much tax it pays but where it's required to pay.