antitrust law

JetBlue, Spirit Airlines to appeal judge’s ruling that blocked $3.8B merger

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JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines said Friday they will appeal a federal judge’s ruling that blocked the air carriers’ planned tie-up because the proposed merger would violate US antitrust law. The appeal came after US District Judge William Young in Boston on Tuesday sided with the Department of Justice in holding that JetBlue’s planned $3.8 billion acquisition of ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit was anti-competitive … Read more

EU regulators plan to block Amazon’s $1.7B iRobot acquisition: report

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The European Union’s competition watchdog plans to block Amazon’s $1.7 billion deal for robot vacuum maker iRobot, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Shares of the Roomba vacuum maker plunged 40% to $14 after the bell. Officials from the European Commission met Amazon’s representatives on Thursday to discuss the deal, the report said. The tech giant did not … Read more

Apple could face antitrust lawsuit from DOJ as early as March

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Apple is set to face an antitrust lawsuit as soon as March, with the Justice Department preparing to argue that the tech behemoth uses anticompetitive practices to protect the dominance of the iPhone. The DOJ’s is aiming to file the suit sometime in the first quarter, which ends on March 31, people familiar with the … Read more

FTC nominee Melissa Holyoak traded chummy emails with Google-backed firm that ‘advocates abolishing antitrust rules’

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Emails obtained by The Post reveal Federal Trade Commission nominee Melissa Holyoak’s chummy rapport with ex-colleagues at a Google-funded think tank – including one who wrote of the FTC that “burning it to the ground is too good for it.” Holyoak, the Republican solicitor general of Utah, previously spent five years as an attorney for … Read more

DOJ close to hitting Apple with massive antitrust suit: report

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The Justice Department is reportedly in the “late stages” of filing a massive antitrust lawsuit against Apple – the latest sign of mounting regulatory pressure that has roiled the iPhone maker. The DOJ could file a lawsuit against Apple within the first six months of this year, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing … Read more

Why Google’s Larry Page, Sergey Brin ‘escaped all scrutiny’ during landmark antitrust trials

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Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have kept a low profile as the Big Tech firm weathers a series of critical antitrust court battles – and it’s part of a long-running pattern of avoiding federal scrutiny, experts say. The search giant is reeling after a shocking court loss to “Fortnite” maker Epic Games that … Read more

Illumina to divest cancer test maker Grail

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Illumina said on Sunday that it would divest cancer diagnostic test maker Grail after the companies battled both US and European antitrust enforcers for more than two years and faced fierce opposition from activist investor Carl Icahn. The divestiture will be executed through a third-party sale or capital markets transaction, San Diego-based Illumina said in … Read more

Google has monopoly over Android app store, jury rules

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The “Google Play” app store operates as an illegal monopoly that relies on anticompetitive tactics to stifle potential business rivals, a California jury determined Monday in a stunning blow to the Big Tech giant’s empire. The nine-person jury deliberated for just three hours before delivering a unanimous verdict in favor of “Fortnite” maker Epic Games, … Read more

Amazon asks judge to dismiss FTC antitrust lawsuit

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Amazon asked a federal court on Friday to dismiss a US government antitrust lawsuit which accuses the company of using illegal strategies to boost profits at its online retail empire, including an algorithm that allegedly pushed up prices by more than $1 billion. In its motion to dismiss, Amazon said the Federal Trade Commission, in a lawsuit filed in September, confused … Read more