FTC sues 1-800 Contacts over reciprocal, “anti-competitive” PPC bidding agreements

Bidding agreements prevented 1-800 Contacts and its rivals from bidding on each others’ trademarked terms.

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Report: EU responding to Google antitrust search-quality defense with new objections

Supplementary statement reportedly being filed to enable European Commission to address Google’s defense against claims of abuse of market position.

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French privacy regulator fines Google for not removing RTBF links outside of Europe

CNIL in France refuses to compromise on demand that Google remove all Right to Be Forgotten content from its entire index.

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Streetmap Loses Anti-Competitive Lawsuit Against Google In UK

Streetmap had sued on grounds that putting Google Maps at the top of search results was an “abuse of competition.”

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Microsoft Pulls Funding For Anti-Google Lobbying Group FairSearch

According to a report in Re/Code appearing last week, Microsoft has pulled financial support from FairSearch, an anti-Google “watchdog” or lobbying group that has been at the forefront of advancing European antitrust moves against the company. We sought comment from Microsoft when the…

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Report: EU Preparing To File Formal Antitrust Charges Against Google

Company could face billions in potential fines, up to 10 percent of revenue.

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WSJ Report Suggests Intervention In FTC’s Google Investigation By White House

Article asserts Google lobbying affected agency’s decision in antitrust case.

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Leaked 2012 FTC Document Called Google A Monopoly, Recommended Litigation

An “inadvertently disclosed” report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) labels Google a monopoly and appears to directly contradict the decision not to pursue legal action against the company. In early 2013 the FTC formally decided to close its antitrust investigation against Google…

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Google “Noticias” On The Homepage Lives On Despite End Of Google News Spain

In the wake of the closure of Google News Spain yesterday “external traffic” had fallen 10 to 15 percent, according to data provided to Mathew Ingram by Chartbeat. However overall traffic at the time of the analysis was relatively stable, suggesting direct navigation. In Germany news…

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Google Faces Potential $19M Privacy Fine In The Netherlands

Google continues to face potential fines for failing to change its privacy policy in Europe. Since the company introduced its “simplified privacy policy” in 2012 it has faced Europe-wide criticism and the threat of fines for violating local data protection laws. Multiple government data…

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Spanish Newspapers Want Government To Force Google To Keep News Open In Spain

A new effort by the Spanish Newspaper Publishers Association (AEDE) to prevent Google from shutting down its News site in Spain is an amazing example of industry chutzpah or hubris. The action shows so much chutzpah in fact that it enters the realm of …

EU Issues “Right To Be Forgotten” Criteria

Last week the EU issued formal guidelines surrounding the so-called “Right to Be Forgotten” (RTBF). They are intended to help privacy regulators and search engines implement the RTBF. And they include some controversial elements. I’ve embedded the full document below and…

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Oh No They Didn’t: European Parliament Calls For Break Up Of Google

Today many Americans are busy preparing Thanksgiving meals or getting ready to travel to the homes of friends and family to celebrate the holiday. But Google certainly won’t be giving thanks for the European Parliament’s vote in favor of a resolution to “unbundle”…

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Google Settles UK “Defamation” Suit, Agreeing To Remove Malicious Links

Google has long maintained it’s not responsible for third party content in its index. And that’s the law in the US. However increasingly in Europe authorities and individuals are seeking to make Google legally responsible for the content in its search results. The latest example comes…

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