By , , (This story corrects date in paragraph 14 to July 2019, not July 2020)WASHINGTON/PALO ALTO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc could be forced to sell its prized assets WhatsApp and Instagram after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and nearly every U.S. state filed lawsuits against the social media company, saying it used a “buy or bury” strategy to snap up rivals and keep smaller competitors at bay.With the filing of the twin lawsuits on Wednesday, Facebook becomes the second big tech company to face a major legal challenge this year after the U.S. Justice Department sued Alphabet Inc’s Google...…By , , (This story corrects date in paragraph 14 to July 2019, not July 2020)WASHINGTON/PALO ALTO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc could be forced to sell its prized assets WhatsApp and Instagram after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and nearly every U.S. state filed lawsuits against the social media company, saying it used a “buy or bury” strategy to snap up rivals and keep smaller competitors at bay.With the filing of the twin lawsuits on Wednesday, Facebook becomes the second big tech company to face a major legal challenge this year after the U.S. Justice Department sued Alphabet Inc’s Google...WW…

By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department proposed on Wednesday that Congress take up legislation to curb protections big tech platforms like Alphabet’s Google and Facebook have had for decades, a senior official said, following through on President Donald Trump’s bid to crack down on tech giants.Slideshow The goal of the proposal, which is being finalized, is to push tech companies to address criminal content on their platforms such as child exploitation, terrorism or cyber stalking, and boost transparency for users when the outlets take down lawful material, the Justice...…By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department proposed on Wednesday that Congress take up legislation to curb protections big tech platforms like Alphabet’s Google and Facebook have had for decades, a senior official said, following through on President Donald Trump’s bid to crack down on tech giants.Slideshow The goal of the proposal, which is being finalized, is to push tech companies to address criminal content on their platforms such as child exploitation, terrorism or cyber stalking, and boost transparency for users when the outlets take down lawful material, the Justice...WW…

Apple unveils AirTag, in this still image from the keynote video of a special event at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, April 20, 2021. Apple Inc./via REUTERS. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comWASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) - A panel of U.S. senators questioned officials from Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google on Wednesday about the dominance of their mobile app stores and whether the companies abuse their power at the expense of smaller competitors.Amy Klobuchar, the top Senate Democrat on antitrust issues, said Apple and Google can use their power to "exclude or...…Apple unveils AirTag, in this still image from the keynote video of a special event at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, April 20, 2021. Apple Inc./via REUTERS. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comWASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) - A panel of U.S. senators questioned officials from Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google on Wednesday about the dominance of their mobile app stores and whether the companies abuse their power at the expense of smaller competitors.Amy Klobuchar, the top Senate Democrat on antitrust issues, said Apple and Google can use their power to "exclude or...WW…

By , (Reuters) - Google’s plan to block a popular web tracking tool called “cookies” is a source of concern for U.S. Justice Department investigators who have been asking advertising industry executives whether the move by the search giant will hobble its smaller rivals, people familiar with the situation said.Alphabet Inc’s Google a year ago announced it would ban some cookies in its Chrome browser to increase user privacy. Over the last two months, Google released more details, leading online ads rivals to complain about losing the data-gathering tool.The questions from Justice Department...…By , (Reuters) - Google’s plan to block a popular web tracking tool called “cookies” is a source of concern for U.S. Justice Department investigators who have been asking advertising industry executives whether the move by the search giant will hobble its smaller rivals, people familiar with the situation said.Alphabet Inc’s Google a year ago announced it would ban some cookies in its Chrome browser to increase user privacy. Over the last two months, Google released more details, leading online ads rivals to complain about losing the data-gathering tool.The questions from Justice Department...WW…

By , (Reuters) - Google’s plan to block a popular web tracking tool called “cookies” is a source of concern for U.S. Justice Department investigators who have been asking advertising industry executives whether the move by the search giant will hobble its smaller rivals, people familiar with the situation said.Alphabet Inc’s Google a year ago announced it would ban some cookies in its Chrome browser to increase user privacy. Over the last two months, Google released more details, leading online ads rivals to complain about losing the data-gathering tool.The questions from Justice Department...…By , (Reuters) - Google’s plan to block a popular web tracking tool called “cookies” is a source of concern for U.S. Justice Department investigators who have been asking advertising industry executives whether the move by the search giant will hobble its smaller rivals, people familiar with the situation said.Alphabet Inc’s Google a year ago announced it would ban some cookies in its Chrome browser to increase user privacy. Over the last two months, Google released more details, leading online ads rivals to complain about losing the data-gathering tool.The questions from Justice Department...WW…

By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four more states have joined a lawsuit filed by Texas and others against Alphabet Inc’s Google that accuses it of breaking antitrust laws to boost its already dominant advertising business, the Texas attorney general said on Tuesday.Joining the lawsuit filed in December are Alaska, Florida, Montana, Nevada and Puerto Rico, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said. This brings the number of plaintiffs in the lawsuit to 15 states and territories.The lawsuit was one of three filed last year by the federal government or states against Google.In announcing Tuesday’s...…By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four more states have joined a lawsuit filed by Texas and others against Alphabet Inc’s Google that accuses it of breaking antitrust laws to boost its already dominant advertising business, the Texas attorney general said on Tuesday.Joining the lawsuit filed in December are Alaska, Florida, Montana, Nevada and Puerto Rico, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said. This brings the number of plaintiffs in the lawsuit to 15 states and territories.The lawsuit was one of three filed last year by the federal government or states against Google.In announcing Tuesday’s...WW…

Read full articleBy Diane Bartz and Helen CosterWASHINGTON, March 12 (Reuters) - Lobbyists for Facebook and Google threw their weight against new U.S. legislation that seeks to aid struggling news publishers by allowing them to negotiate collectively against the tech companies over revenue sharing and other deals.U.S. lawmakers introduced the plan in Congress on Wednesday to address a perceived power imbalance between news outlets and the tech giants. Critics accuse the companies of using content to drive traffic and ad revenue to their platforms without fairly compensating the...…Read full articleBy Diane Bartz and Helen CosterWASHINGTON, March 12 (Reuters) - Lobbyists for Facebook and Google threw their weight against new U.S. legislation that seeks to aid struggling news publishers by allowing them to negotiate collectively against the tech companies over revenue sharing and other deals.U.S. lawmakers introduced the plan in Congress on Wednesday to address a perceived power imbalance between news outlets and the tech giants. Critics accuse the companies of using content to drive traffic and ad revenue to their platforms without fairly compensating the...WW…

By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bipartisan members of Congress plan to introduce a bill in coming weeks to make it easier for smaller news organizations to negotiate with Big Tech platforms, said Rep. Ken Buck, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel.The U.S. bill would be introduced at a time when Australia is in a pitched battle with Facebook. The social media giant blocked news feeds and other pages - including those of charities, and health and emergency services - as part of a dispute over a proposed law that would require it and Google to pay news outlets...…By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bipartisan members of Congress plan to introduce a bill in coming weeks to make it easier for smaller news organizations to negotiate with Big Tech platforms, said Rep. Ken Buck, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel.The U.S. bill would be introduced at a time when Australia is in a pitched battle with Facebook. The social media giant blocked news feeds and other pages - including those of charities, and health and emergency services - as part of a dispute over a proposed law that would require it and Google to pay news outlets...WW…

By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bipartisan members of Congress plan to introduce a bill in coming weeks to make it easier for smaller news organizations to negotiate with Big Tech platforms, said Rep. Ken Buck, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel.The U.S. bill would be introduced at a time when Australia is in a pitched battle with Facebook. The social media giant blocked news feeds and other pages - including those of charities, and health and emergency services - as part of a dispute over a proposed law that would require it and Google to pay news outlets...…By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bipartisan members of Congress plan to introduce a bill in coming weeks to make it easier for smaller news organizations to negotiate with Big Tech platforms, said Rep. Ken Buck, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel.The U.S. bill would be introduced at a time when Australia is in a pitched battle with Facebook. The social media giant blocked news feeds and other pages - including those of charities, and health and emergency services - as part of a dispute over a proposed law that would require it and Google to pay news outlets...WW…

By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Google and Facebook took particularly sharp jabs for alleged abuse of their market power from Democrats and Republicans on Wednesday in a much-anticipated congressional hearing that put four of America’s most prominent tech CEOs in the hot seat.The chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives antitrust panel holding the hearing said afterwards that the four CEOs had acknowledged concerning behavior.“What we heard from witnesses at the hearing confirmed the evidence that we have collected over the last year,” Representative David Cicilline, a Democrat, told...…By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Google and Facebook took particularly sharp jabs for alleged abuse of their market power from Democrats and Republicans on Wednesday in a much-anticipated congressional hearing that put four of America’s most prominent tech CEOs in the hot seat.The chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives antitrust panel holding the hearing said afterwards that the four CEOs had acknowledged concerning behavior.“What we heard from witnesses at the hearing confirmed the evidence that we have collected over the last year,” Representative David Cicilline, a Democrat, told...WW…