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☆ Who could buy TikTok?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Still, the company is under such close scrutiny that it would be a poor candidate to buy TikTok, experts say. If you were to tell me it’s Verizon, or AT&T, maybe it’s not as big of a problem.”Jasmine Enberg, principal analyst at Emarketer, highlighted a paradox: Only the largest, most dominant tech giants may have the resources to buy TikTok. Microsoft had been one of the handful of contenders to buy TikTok in 2020 when President Donald Trump first pushed for a sale. A former Trump Cabinet official enters the frayIn a move that caught many by surprise, former Trump Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced last month that he is putting together a team of investors to buy TikTok. As with Mnuchin, O’Leary has said a potential acquisition of TikTok may have to exclude TikTok’s algorithm.

Persons: Joe Biden, There’s, ”, Gene Kimmelman, Jasmine Enberg, ” Enberg, TikTok’s, Donald Trump, TikTok, Steven Mnuchin, Mnuchin, ” Oregon Democratic Sen, Ron Wyden, Trump, who’ve, Kevin O’Leary, O’Leary Organizations: CNN, Facebook, Google, Meta, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Department, YouTube, Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, Verizon, Emarketer, Activision Blizzard, Walmart, Oracle, Project Texas, Texas, Trump Cabinet, Trump Treasury, Trump, ” Oregon Democratic, Washington Post, O’Leary Ventures Locations: United States, TikTok, ” Oregon

☆ Who will buy TikTok from ByteDance?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

At $100 billion, there are few companies that could afford to buy TikTok outright. Citing people familiar with the matter, the Journal wrote that Kotick “floated the idea of partnering to buy TikTok to a table of people that included OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.”CNN couldn’t independently confirm the report. Its one go at the social media scene, the buggy and short-lived Ping, was one of Apple’s biggest flops. And any tech executive or private equity investor thinking of buying TikTok would need to be prepared to enter the social media quagmire. A key question in assessing the value of a TikTok deal is whether China would allow ByteDance to export its algorithm — the secret sauce that keeps TikTok users glued to their phones.

Persons: CNN Business ’, There’s, Joe Biden’s, who’d, Dan Ives, ” Ives, Who’s, ”, Gene Kimmelman, OpenAi, Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard, “, Sam Altman, ” CNN couldn’t, Altman didn’t, doesn’t, quagmire, They’d, Mark Zuckerberg, Shou Chew, It’s, Trump, —, Brian Fung Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, Senate, Microsoft, Department, Google, ” Meta, Facebook, Street Journal, Activision, ” CNN, Kotick, Apple, Oracle, Walmart, Communist Party, ByteDance Locations: New York, United States, Beijing, Europe, China

☆ Automakers oppose Cleveland-Cliffs push to buy U.S. Steel
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. Steel Edgar Thompson Works is seen in Braddock, Pennsylvania, U.S. November 4, 2022. REUTERS/Quinn Glabicki/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Oct 31 (Reuters) - A group representing major automakers on Tuesday said the industry opposes steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs' (CLF.N) proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel (X.N), saying it would increase auto industry costs and slow electric vehicle sales. U.S. Steel in August rejected Cleveland-Cliff's proposed $7.25 billion price. Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves last week during an earnings call declined to discuss the issue, citing restrictions. In August, U.S. Steel said it had entered into confidentiality agreements with "numerous third parties" and started to review multiple unsolicited proposals ranging from partial acquisition to an entire buyout.

Persons: Steel Edgar Thompson, Quinn Glabicki, John Bozzella, Lina Khan, Jonathan Kanter, Cliff's, Lourenco Goncalves, David Shepardson, Nick Zieminski Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S . Steel, Alliance, Automotive Innovation, General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Federal Trade Commission, Justice Department Antitrust, . Steel, Cliffs, Steel, Thomson Locations: Braddock , Pennsylvania, U.S, Cleveland

☆ Apple execs lose bid to block testimony at Google antitrust trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Three senior Apple executives have lost their bid to stop the U.S. Justice Department from calling them as witnesses in the government's upcoming trial accusing Alphabet's Google of abusing its search power. Cue oversees Apple Music, Apple TV and other services. The Justice Department declined to comment. Google and its lawyers have denied any wrongdoing in the case, one of two Justice Department antitrust lawsuits against Google. The case is United States v. Google, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, No.

Persons: Alphabet's, Eduardo Cue, John Giannandrea, Adrian Perica —, Judge Amit Mehta, Perica, John Schmidtlein, Mehta, Apple Organizations: Apple Computers, Apple, U.S . Justice, Washington , D.C, U.S, Companies, Cue, Apple Music, Google, Justice Department, District of Columbia, APM Locations: Silicon Valley, Cupertino , California, Washington ,, Mehta's court, United States, U.S

Google (GOOGL.O) had asked for summary judgment on all the government's claims in the case, which is to go to trial next month. Google said Friday it appreciated the court's "careful consideration and decision to dismiss claims regarding the design of Google Search" in the case brought by the state attorneys general. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong praised the decision to allow the states Google search antitrust suit to proceed to trial. Mehta noted Google LLC operates the largest U.S. internet general search engine whose "brand name has become so ubiquitous that dictionaries recognize it as a verb." He noted Google in 2020 had nearly 90% market share and advertisers spend over $80 billion annually alone to reach general search users.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, Judge Amit Mehta, Google's, Mehta, William Tong, Tong, Trump, Judge Mehta, Diane Bartz, David Shepardson, Mark Porter, Diane Craft Organizations: Google, Viva Technology, Porte de, REUTERS, Justice Department, Big Tech, Microsoft Corp, Apple, LG, Motorola, Samsung, Verizon, Mozilla, Justice, Department, Thomson Locations: Porte, Paris, France, WASHINGTON, U.S, Washington, Connecticut, Virginia

[1/2] An American Airlines aircraft flies past JetBlue and United Express aircraft as it lands at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., January 24, 2022. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File PhotoBOSTON/WASHINGTON, July 26 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Wednesday rejected the Justice Department's bid to restrict JetBlue Airways (JBLU.O) and American Airlines (AAL.O) from entering into any partnerships with other carriers akin to their now-scrapped Northeast Alliance. JetBlue and American Airlines are winding down their arrangement announced in 2020, in which they joined forces for flights in and out of New York City and Boston. While the Northeast Alliance is set to be fully wound down by January, the Justice Department has been pushing for further restrictions on the two airlines. Daniel Wall, a lawyer for American Airlines, called the appointment of monitor highly unusual and said restrictions on deals with other airlines was a step too far.

Persons: Joshua Roberts, Department's, Judge Leo Sorokin, William Jones, Sorokin, Jones, Daniel Wall, Nate Raymond, David Shepardson, Richard Chang, Diane Craft Organizations: American Airlines, JetBlue, United Express, Reagan National Airport, REUTERS, BOSTON, JetBlue Airways, Alliance, Massachusetts, Justice Department, Spirit Airlines, Department, Northeast Alliance, Airlines, Thomson Locations: Arlington , Virginia, U.S, WASHINGTON, New York City, Boston ., Boston, Washington

BOSTON, July 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday urged a judge to restrict JetBlue Airways (JBLU.O) and American Airlines (AAL.O) from entering into any partnerships with other carriers akin to their now-scrapped Northeast Alliance, which the judge deemed anticompetitive. JetBlue and American Airlines are winding down their arrangement announced in 2020, in which they joined forces for flights in and out of New York City and Boston. JetBlue subsequently decided to terminate the alliance, while preparing to defend a planned $3.8 billion purchase of Spirit Airlines (SAVE.N) in court in a separate Justice Department antitrust case seeking to block that deal. While the Northeast Alliance is set to be fully wound down by January, the Justice Department has been pushing for further restrictions on the companies. Daniel Wall, a lawyer for American Airlines, called the appointment of monitor highly unusual and said restrictions on deals with other airlines was a step too far.

Persons: Leo Sorokin, William Jones, Sorokin, Jones, Daniel Wall, Wall, Department's, Nate Raymond, Richard Chang Organizations: BOSTON, U.S . Department of Justice, Wednesday, JetBlue Airways, American Airlines, Alliance, JetBlue, Boston . U.S, District, Justice Department, Spirit Airlines, Department, Northeast Alliance, Thomson Locations: New York City, Boston ., Boston

[1/2] A U.S. flag flies outside a branch of the Silicon Valley Bank in Wellesley, Massachusetts, U.S., March 13, 2023. REUTERS/Brian SnyderWASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department antitrust division plans to expand the scope of its bank merger review process, the department's chief said on Tuesday, in a sign the agency may get tougher when scrutinizing such deals. The comments are likely to disappoint the industry, which had been hoping Democratic President Joe Biden's administration would be more open to allowing deals after a spate of bank failures since March. Specifically, Kanter said any merger review for antitrust purposes must go beyond traditional factors like the impact on local depositors and branches, and consider a broader set of issues. "We believe this policy change will not be as negative for bank mergers as it may first appear," he added.

Persons: Brian Snyder WASHINGTON, Jonathan Kanter, Joe Biden's, Kanter, Biden, Isaac Boltansky, Cowen, Jaret Seiberg, Pete Schroeder, Deepa Babington, Michelle Price Organizations: Bank, REUTERS, U.S . Justice Department, Brookings Institution, Democratic, Justice Department, Silicon Valley Bank, DOJ, Thomson Locations: U.S, Wellesley , Massachusetts, Silicon

☆ Google Loses Bid to Escape DOJ’s Digital-Ad Antitrust Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Jan Wolfe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The case is one of two Justice Department antitrust lawsuits against Google. Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg NewsAlphabet Inc.’s Google lost an early bid to escape a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit that seeks to break up the company’s business brokering digital advertising across much of the internet. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema denied Google’s request to dismiss the case, finding that the Justice Department’s complaint filed in January was sufficiently detailed to proceed.

U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco said in his order that Google "fell strikingly short" in its duties to preserve records. Separately, the plaintiffs will have a chance to urge Donato to tell jurors that Google destroyed information that was unfavorable to it. The lawyers said Google was deleting chat records every 24 hours and "did so even after this litigation commenced." Google is separately fighting claims in a U.S. Justice Department antitrust case in Washington, D.C., federal court of destroyed chat records. The case is In re Google Play Store Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No.

Companies Google Inc FollowAlphabet Inc FollowMarch 24 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday set a fast-paced schedule in the U.S. Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit challenging Google LLC's digital advertising technology practices, moving the case along more quickly than either side had proposed. A Justice Department spokesperson and a representative from Google had no comment on Friday. The Justice Department and eight states filed the case in January, seeking to force Google to sell its ad manager suite, claiming that the company unlawfully curbed competition over advertising technology. The case is one of two Justice Department antitrust actions against Google. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, assigned to the digital advertising case, will preside at the January pretrial conference.

☆ DOJ sues Google over its dominance in online advertising market
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The Justice Department and eight states sued Google on Tuesday, accusing the company of harming competition with its dominance in the online advertising market and calling for it to be broken up. The move marks the Biden administration’s first blockbuster antitrust case against a Big Tech company. Having inserted itself into all aspects of the digital advertising marketplace, Google has used anticompetitive, exclusionary, and unlawful means to eliminate or severely diminish any threat to its dominance over digital advertising technologies.”The suit was filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Tuesday’s suit marks the federal government’s second antitrust complaint against Google since 2020, when the Trump administration sued over Google’s alleged anticompetitive harms in search and search advertising. Third-party estimates suggest that Google and Facebook (now known as Meta) accounted for the majority of US digital ad revenues until about 2017, with Google taking about a third of the market.

☆ Justice Department official cleared to oversee Google probes -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - The Justice Department's top antitrust official recently won approval from the department to oversee investigations involving Google parent Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), a person briefed on the matter told Reuters. The Justice Department and Google declined to comment on Friday. In November 2021, Google asked the Justice Department to consider requiring Kanter to recuse himself because of his work for a long list of Google critics like Yelp Inc (YELP.N), which Alphabet described as "vociferously advocating for an antitrust case against Google for years." The Justice Department's October 2020 lawsuit alleges Google violated antitrust law in how it maintained dominance in search and search advertising. For example, it pointed to billions of dollars that Google paid annually to Apple (AAPL.O), LG Electronics Inc (066570.KS) and others to ensure Google search was the default on their devices.

☆ Trump criticizes PGA Tour, says 'Saudis have done a fantastic job' with LIV
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Jack Stebbins | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Former President Donald Trump stands on the 18th green during the Pro-Am tournament before the LIV Golf series at Trump National Doral, Oct. 27, 2022. He also criticized the PGA Tour. LIV Golf has been fighting to compete with the PGA Tour, even without a media deal. Trump said he thinks the PGA Tour and LIV could work something out. The PGA Tour declined to comment.

☆ Justice Department Loses Antitrust Bid to Block Sugar Industry Merger
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Erin Mulvaney | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A federal judge Friday ruled U.S. Sugar can proceed with its planned purchase of rival Imperial Sugar, rejecting a Justice Department antitrust challenge to the deal. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika in Delaware didn’t immediately release her full opinion, citing a need to protect confidential business information, but she released a one-page public judgment that said the acquisition wouldn’t violate federal antitrust law.

☆ Judge Rejects Antitrust Challenge to UnitedHealth Acquisition
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-22 | by ( Anna Wilde Mathews | Brent Kendall | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

The court’s decision is a win for UnitedHealth, which owns the largest U.S. health insurer and a sprawling healthcare operation that comprises thousands of doctors as well as clinics and valuable data. August 22, 2022, USA: UnitedHealth Group headquarters in Minnetonka, Minnesota. (Credit Image: Â© File/Minneapolis Star Tribune via ZUMA Press Wire)WASHINGTON—A federal judge Monday ruled against a Justice Department antitrust challenge to UnitedHealth Group $13 billion acquisition of health-technology firm Change Healthcare rejecting government claims that the deal would unlawfully suppress competition and limit innovation in health-insurance markets. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols ruled for the companies in an opinion that he kept under seal for now because he said it “may contain competitively sensitive information.” The judge said he would release a redacted public version of the ruling in the coming days. In a one-page public order, he denied the Justice Department’s request to block the companies from completing the deal.

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