Apple and Google under scrutiny from regulator over smartphone dominance June 15, 2021 Apple and Google are facing an investigation by UK competition authorities over concerns their dominance in the smartphone market is harming consumers. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) today said it will examine whether the companies’ “effective duopoly” over the supply of operating systems, app stores and web browsers should be curbed. The market study [...]
UK competition watchdog ‘to probe Amazon buy box’ June 10, 2021 The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority is planning to formally investigate competition at Amazon, according to reports this morning. The investigation comes amid a similar ongoing one by the EU into Amazon. The UK competition watchdog, which has been analysing the online retailer for months, has focused on how Amazon uses data collected on its [...]
Facebook hit with double data crackdown as UK and EU open competition probes June 4, 2021 Facebook is facing a two-pronged attack after UK and EU regulators both opened investigations into alleged monopolistic behaviour in the tech giant’s use of advertising data. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will examine whether the social media platform has gained an unfair advantage over rivals through how it gathers and uses data for classified [...]
CMA and EU antitrust watchdogs eye AstraZeneca’s $39bn Alexion deal June 1, 2021 EU antitrust watchdogs and are set to decide by this weekend whether to approve AstraZeneca’s $39bn bid for biopharmaceutical company Alexion, a European Commission filing revealed today. Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca sought approval for the deal on Monday. However, the UK’s competition regulator is reviewing the takeover bid for the US-based pharma firm, until 5 July – [...]
McAfee forced to refund customers following auto-renew probe May 25, 2021 Antivirus software giant McAfee will be forced to refund some customers whose contracts were automatically renewed following an investigation by the competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opened an investigation into the anti-virus software market in 2018 amid concerns about unfair practices. A super-complaint filed by Citizens Advice warned that UK customers could [...]
Tim Cook to take the stand in Apple’s Fortnite ‘monopoly’ battle May 21, 2021 Apple boss Tim Cook will take the stand today to defend his company against allegations of monopoly power as part of a high-profile legal battle with Fortnite maker Epic Games. The iPhone chief is expected to spend more than two hours fighting back against claims Apple abuses its market power through its App Store. Epic [...]
£31bn Virgin Media and O2 merger given final green light by UK competition watchdog May 20, 2021 £31bn Virgin Media and O2 merger given green light by UK competition watchdog
Apple hit with £1.5bn UK lawsuit over ‘excessive’ app store charges May 11, 2021 Apple is being sued for £1.5bn in a landmark UK class action lawsuit that accuses the tech giant of charging “excessive and unlawful” fees on its App Store. The claim, which has been filed in the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London, alleges that Apple deliberately shuts out competition by forcing consumers to use its own [...]
CMA teams up with Australian and German authorities to tackle problematic mergers April 20, 2021 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has teamed up with its Australian and German counterparts to better enforce mergers, with healthy competition crucial to post-pandemic economic growth. The CMA, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Germany’s Bundeskartellamt have signed up to a statement which said that “without strong merger control regimes, there is a [...]
UK launches new competition watchdog for Big Tech crackdown April 7, 2021 Tech giants such as Facebook and Google are facing a tougher regulatory regime in the UK after a new watchdog aimed at curbing their power launched today. The Digital Markets Unit (DMU) will be charged with setting up new rules to give consumers more control over their data, promote online competition and crack down on [...]