The Antitrust Week in Review

Here are some of the developments in antitrust news this past week that we found interesting and are following.

Europe’s Antitrust Enforcer on Google, Apple and the Year Ahead.  Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s competition commissioner, is expected to move ahead in the coming months in the antitrust case she filed against Google, in which she has accused the company of favoring some of its own services in search results over those of rivals.  The current charges, listed in a statement of objections, are just one in a number of competition-related headaches that the search engine may face this year in Europe.  Ms. Vestager is also investigating whether Apple received an unfair tax deal from Ireland, and Amazon from Luxembourg, that broke Europe’s state aid rules.

News Corp to Settle In-store Promotions Litigation for $280 Million.  News Corp has announced that it has agreed to pay $280 million to resolve claims that it monopolized the market for in-store promotions at more than 50,000 retail stores across the United States.  The settlement with Rupert Murdoch’s company abruptly ended a trial that had begun when jurors in Manhattan federal court heard opening arguments in what had been a $2 billion lawsuit.  As part of the settlement with the plaintiffs, who consist of consumer packaged goods companies including Dial Corp and Kraft Heinz Co, News Corp said it will pay $250 million to settle the case and another $30 million to resolve related claims.

Facebook Faces German Antitrust Investigation.  Facebook became the latest American technology company to face antitrust hurdles in Europe after the German competition authority opened an investigation into whether the company has abused its dominant position in social networking.  The move puts Facebook, which is used by many of Europe’s 500 million citizens, alongside other United States technology companies, like Google and Microsoft, which have also faced antitrust investigations into their activities across the region.  European officials have taken a tough stance on how American tech giants operate across the 28-member bloc, as many politicians here remain concerned that these companies often dominate many aspects of people’s digital lives, including social networking, online search and e-commerce.