Items tagged with European Commission

The European Commission (EC) made it official today that Apple has been informed of being the first company to breach the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The violation comprises Apple preventing app developers from “freely steering customers to alternative channels for offers and content.” Apple, Meta, and Alphabet... Read more...
Apple and Microsoft dodged a big bullet, as the European Commission found the duo to not be designated as “gatekeepers.” The decision closed four market investigations that were first launched in September of last year following the passage of the Digital Markets Act. The Digital Markets Act (DMA) was a landmark... Read more...
The European Council has adopted new regulations on batteries that will promote a circular economy by regulating batteries throughout their life cycle. Part of this new regulation will require portable batteries in "appliances" to be removable and replaceable by 2027. The European Parliament and the Council's new... Read more...
The European Union is looking to send data centers into space in an effort to fight climate change. Thales Alenia Space is spearheading a study called ASCEND, which is part of the EU's "Horizon Europe" initiative. The need for digitalization means that data centers around the world are growing at a never before... Read more...
The General Court of the European Union has overturned a massive antitrust fine levied by the EU against Intel back in 2009. At the time, the EU determined Intel had abused its dominant position in the market for x86 processors by offering conditional rebates to companies like Dell and Lenovo, and slapped the chip... Read more...
Most people would probably agree that having standards is a good thing. If anyone needs proof of this, just look at USB. The connector is one of the best innovations to ever happen to PCs, and is found on billions of keyboards, mice, digital cameras, flash drives, and practically everything else. So why is Apple... Read more...
The European Commission is hardly afraid to hand out hefty fines to tech firms, as Google knows as well as any company. In case Google was in need of a reminder, though, European Union regulators smacked the company with a fine of 1.49 billion euros, which is nearly $1.7 billion in US currency. Google's latest fine... Read more...
Google's decision to force mobile device makers to install its own collection of apps on Android phones in order to have access to the popular Google Play Store is going to cost the company a hefty fine in Europe. Just how hefty is not yet known, though the European Union is likely to dole out a record penalty of several billion dollars. The Read more...
Google just cannot seem to catch a break from European regulators. Fresh off being hit with a record-setting €2.42 billion fine (around $2.7 billion in U.S. currency) for favoring its own shopping search engine in search results over third-party comparison shopping tools, antitrust regulators in the European Union are... Read more...
When the European Union comes at technology firms for perceived antitrust violations, it comes at them hard. Such is the case yet again, this time with the European Commission issuing a record-breaking fine of €2.42 billion (around $2.7 billion in U.S. currency) to Google for running afoul of antitrust law. The fine... Read more...
A power saving feature found in some of Samsung's televisions has come under scrutiny by an independent test lab in Europe. The lab claims that Samsung TV's with "motion lighting" use less energy during official certification tests than they do in real-world use, the implication being that Samsung might be cheating... Read more...
The very ornery European Commission has set its sights on mobile chipmaker Qualcomm, which is the focus of two formal antitrust investigations into possible abusive behavior related to baseband chipsets used in consumer electronic devices. What investigators are looking into is whether or not Qualcomm essentially... Read more...
European regulators are holding Google's feet to the fire over what they claim are various search shenanigans, such as Google promoting its own shopping services by displaying them at the top and burying non-paying rivals way below. Matt Brittin, Vice President of Google in the U.K., addressed the anti-trust charges... Read more...
Tensions between the European Union and Google never seem to subside, nor are they likely to anytime soon as the former reportedly prepares to issue antitrust charges against the latter as part of a five-year investigation. Early indications are that this could be the most high-profile antitrust case brought on by the EU since it spanked Microsoft with Read more...
Google is again the target of a controversial measure in the European Union as its parliament draws up a draft motion to separate the company's search engine business from its other operations, which it proposes is one possible solution to Google's dominance. The draft motion is backed by the European People's Party... Read more...
Telecom companies opposed to Facebook's proposed $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp, a highly popular mobile messenger service, can go pound sand. That's basically what the European Commission said by approving the deal despite the outcry from telecoms that will have to find a way to compete with free voice-call... Read more...
Time heals all wounds, but it doesn't make fines go away. Microsoft may find that out this month if the European Union goes forth with plans to fine the software giant in the coming weeks. The fine, which could be significant, relates to Microsoft's failure to comply with a so-called browser ballot feature it agreed... Read more...
The European Commission doesn't mess around when it comes to antitrust law, nor is it afraid to hit companies with large fines for not playing by the rules in the European Union (EU). As such, Microsoft now finds itself in hot water for inadvertently breaking a promise to offer Windows users living in Europe a choice... Read more...
Both the U.S. Department of Justice and the European Commission gave Google their respective blessings to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, the two agencies said in separate announcements. Taking it one step further, the DoJ also said it would allow Apple, Microsoft, and Research In Motion (RIM) to purchase... Read more...
Intel Statement on Latest European Commission Action SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Intel Corporation today issued the following statement in response to allegations contained in the new Statement of Objections (SO) issued by the European Commission: We're naturally disappointed the Commission has decided to issue a new SO. The issuance of a second... Read more...
The EU's antitrust regulators launched a fresh offensive against Intel while still awaiting an official response from the company.  The newest round of raids encompasses Intel's offices in Munich as well as retailers in Germany, France and the U.K.  The raids were supposedly carried out in order to discover if Intel was using noncompetitive... Read more...