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

Swift Opposition to Resurrection of AT&T Giant.  Over three decades ago, such was AT&T’s monopoly over the nation’s communications networks that the government forcefully shattered its empire.  Now, as one of its successors again seeks a formidable business empire by buying Time Warner, lawmakers, analysts and advocacy groups are closely watching to see if the union, or any that follow in its wake, poses harm to consumers.  Reaction to AT&T’s $85.4 billion purchase was swift — and, outside of Wall Street, full of skepticism.

Italy Antitrust Agency Probes WhatsApp Messaging Service.  Italy’s antitrust watchdog said on Friday it had opened a probe into whether messaging service WhatsApp obliged users to agree to sharing personal data with its parent company Facebook and imposed “unfair” conditions on users.  WhatsApp said in August it would start sharing phone numbers with the social network, prompting European regulators to declare they would put the matter under close scrutiny.  The Italian agency said it was investigating whether the WhatsApp application had led users to believe they would have not been able to continue using it unless they agreed to terms and conditions including the sharing of personal data.

Qualcomm Must Woo EU Antitrust Foes to Win Blessing for NXP.  Qualcomm Inc., locked in a lengthy fight with the European Union over antitrust fines, must woo the same regulator to win clearance for its $47 billion-dollar takeover of NXP Semiconductors NV.  The bid for NXP is the largest transaction in the history of the semiconductor industry, requiring approval from the European Commission, the EU’s competition watchdog, and other global merger authorities.  For Qualcomm, it will mean going cap in hand to Brussels to get its deal through just as it fights two EU antitrust cases that could lead to possible fines as soon as next year.

Gazprom Putting ‘Final Touch’ to EU Antitrust Deal.  Gazprom is finalizing a deal with European Union regulators to end a five-year antitrust case and avoid fines, signaling a thaw in business relations between Moscow and Brussels despite tensions over Ukraine and Syria.  The Russian state gas exporter, which supplies a third of the EU’s gas, has been on the European Commission’s radar since 2012, culminating in charges last year that it overcharged customers in eastern and central Europe and blocked rivals.  Since then, Gazprom has offered concessions aimed at staving off a potential fine of up to 10 percent of its global turnover.

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

AT&T to Pay $85 Billion for Time Warner, Create Telecom-Media Giant.  AT&T said on Saturday it agreed to buy Time Warner for $85.4 billion, the boldest move yet by a telecommunications company to acquire content to stream over its network to attract a growing number of online viewers.  The biggest deal in the world this year will, if approved by regulators, give AT&T control of cable TV channels HBO and CNN, film studio Warner Bros and other coveted media assets.  The tie-up will likely face intense scrutiny by U.S. antitrust enforcers worried that AT&T might try to limit distribution of Time Warner material.

Deutsche Bank to Pay $38 Million in U.S. Silver Price-Fixing Case.  Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay $38 million to settle U.S. litigation over allegations it illegally conspired with other banks to fix silver prices at the expense of investors, according to court papers.  The settlement, disclosed in papers filed in federal court in Manhattan, came in one of many recent lawsuits in which investors have accused banks of conspiring to rig rates and prices in financial and commodities markets.  The settlement had been expected since April, though terms had yet to be disclosed.

Intel’s $1.4B Antitrust Verdict Should be Reviewed, Top EU Judge Says.  Intel’s hope of recovering a record antitrust fine have improved with a recommendation from a top European Union judge on Thursday that the case be reviewed.  The company paid the 1.06 billion euro (then US$1.4 billion) fine in 2009 after the European Commission found it guilty of abusing its dominant position in the market for x86 processors.  Since then, it has been seeking to have the judgment overturned, first by the EU’s General Court and then, since 2014, by the EU’s highest legal authority, the Court of Justice.

EU Regulators Want to Know if LinkedIn Data is Unique: Sources.  EU antitrust regulators want to know whether LinkedIn’s data is unique, two people familiar with the matter said on Friday, which could be key to their decision on Microsoft’s $26 billion bid for the social network.  The European Commission earlier this week sent questionnaires to third parties, asking for their views on the subject after Microsoft sought approval for its biggest ever acquisition.  One of the questions asked whether LinkedIn’s data from its 433 million professionals is unique and whether it can be replicated, and to what extent substitutes exist for LinkedIn, the people said.

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

Microsoft Seeks EU Approval for LinkedIn Buy.  Microsoft sought EU antitrust approval on Friday for its $26 billion bid for social network LinkedIn, a spokesman said on Friday, kicking off a month-long review by regulators of its largest deal.  U.S. software company Salesforce has criticized the takeover, saying it threatens innovation and competition.  Antitrust regulators in the United States, Canada and Brazil have already cleared the deal.

Google Gets Second Extension to Reply to EU Charge on Shopping.  Alphabet unit Google has been given about three more weeks to counter EU antitrust charges that it unfairly demotes rival shopping services in internet search results, a move that could further delay regulators’ decision on the six-year-old case.  The U.S. technology giant was due to respond to the accusations on Thursday, but requested more time to prepare its defense.  The company now has until Nov. 7, a European Commission spokesman said.

South Korea Regulator Says to Examine Google’s Android Agreements.  The head of South Korea’s antitrust regulator says the agency will closely examine whether Google’s agreements with handset manufacturers on the U.S. firm’s Android mobile operating system limits market competition.  Jeong Jae-chan, chairman of the Korea Fair Trade Commission, said the agency will re-examine anti-competition issues over Google’s policies on the Android platform, but did not elaborate on specifics.  The agency said in August it was looking into whether the U.S. firm, whose corporate parent is Alphabet Inc., has violated South Korean anti-competition laws but did not elaborate on what potential charges might be brought against Google.

EU’s Vestager Does Not Rule Out Action Over Google Scraping Complaint.  The EU’s antitrust regulator, who has accused Alphabet unit Google of stifling competition in three separate cases, left open the possibility of further action against the U.S. technology giant.  Complaints have been made about Google’s practice of copying content from websites without payment in what is known as scraping.  Complainants include News Corp, Getty Images and German publishers.

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

Supreme Court Rejects NCAA Appeal of O’Bannon Case.  The U.S. Supreme Court will not hear the NCAA’s appeal of the Ed O’Bannon case, leaving in place lower court rulings that found amateurism rules for big-time college sports violated federal antitrust law but prohibited payments to student-athletes.  The justices on Monday rejected the appeal in a class-action lawsuit originally filed by O’Bannon, a former UCLA basketball star, and later joined by other athletes.  The court also rejected O’Bannon’s separate appeal that called on the justices to reinstate a plan for schools to pay football and basketball players for the uses of their names, images and likenesses.

Amazon Seeks to Settle EU Antitrust E-Book Investigation – Source.  Amazon is talking to European Union antitrust regulators about settling a year-long investigation into its e-book deals with publishers without a fine, according to a source.  The move comes as Amazon is also under scrutiny over its tax deal with Luxembourg, which may result in the U.S. online retailer paying millions of euros in back taxes.  “Amazon is in talks to settle the e-book case but it is too early to say whether it will reach an agreement,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Google Has Until October 31 to Reply to EU’s Android Antitrust Charges.  Alphabet’s Google has been given until the end of October, the fourth extension, to rebut EU antitrust charges that it uses its dominant Android mobile operating system to block competitors, according to the European Commission.  The Commission in April said the U.S. technology giant’s demand that mobile phone makers pre-install Google Search and the Google Chrome browser on their smartphones to access other Google apps harms consumers and competition.

Banks Must Face U.S. Gold Rigging Lawsuit; UBS is Dismissed.  A U.S. judge said gold investors may pursue much of their lawsuit accusing four major banks of conspiring for a decade to fix prices and exploit distortions at the expense of investors in global markets for the precious metal.  Antitrust and manipulation claims can move forward against Barclays Plc, Bank of Nova Scotia, HSBC Holdings Plc and Societe Generale, U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan said in a decision made public on Tuesday.  Investors allege that the banks conspired from 2004 to 2013 to fix prices.

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

American Express Can Stop Merchants From Steering Clients to Other Cards.  American Express will be able to prevent businesses from pushing customers toward competing credit cards after all.  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled that American Express could stop merchants that accept its cards from encouraging customers to use rival payment cards that charge the stores lower transaction fees.  The decision reversed a lower court’s 2015 ruling that such restrictions violated federal antitrust law.

Salesforce Urges EU to Probe Microsoft, Linkedin Antitrust Issues.  U.S. software company Salesforce called on EU regulators on Thursday to investigate antitrust issues related to Microsoft’s $26 billion bid for social network LinkedIn.  Microsoft is expected to seek EU antitrust approval in the coming weeks for its largest ever deal.  Salesforce, which lost out on the bidding for LinkedIn, urged competition authorities to go beyond a simple review, saying the deal threatens innovation and competition.

Qualcomm to Fight EU Antitrust Charge at November 10 Hearing: Sources.  U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm will attempt to fend off EU antitrust charges at a hearing on Nov. 10 that it used anticompetitive methods to squeeze out a rival, sources  said on Friday.  The European Commission may take Qualcomm’s arguments at the hearing into account in the case, which could delay the Commission’s decision and possible fine against the company if it is found to have infringed EU antitrust rules.  Qualcomm requested the closed-door hearing nine months after the European Commission accused it of forcing British phone software maker Icera out of the market by selling certain baseband chipsets below cost between 2009 and 2011.

Judge Dismisses Scouts’ Lawsuit Against Major League Baseball.  A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit accusing Major League Baseball’s 30 teams of conspiring not to poach each other’s scouts and refusing to pay them overtime.  Citing baseball’s longstanding antitrust exemption, U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe in Manhattan dismissed class action claims by Jordan Wyckoff and Darwin Cox, former scouts for the Kansas City Royals and Colorado Rockies, respectively.  According to the complaint, the teams colluded to reduce competition by agreeing not to cold-call or otherwise recruit each other’s scouts without their employers’ permission, and misclassifying scouts as exempt from federal wage-and-hour laws.