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Search resuls for: "US Federal Trade"


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A US judge blocked the pending $8.5 billion merger of US handbag and accessories maker Tapestry and Capri on Thursday, a victory for the US Federal Trade Commission in an industry where merger challenges are rare. Tapestry fought those claims, saying the deal was spurred by an intensely competitive US handbag industry and was needed to fight back against European players like Gucci, which are increasingly grabbing market share. The ruling in effect permanently blocks the proposed deal, Tapestry’s lawyers said in court documents. Those brands are: Tapestry’s Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman; and Capri’s Versace, Jimmy Choo and Michael Kors. The ruling follows approval of the merger by regulators in Japan and the European Union earlier this year.
Persons: Tapestry, Gucci, Biden, Kate Spade, Stuart Weitzman, Capri’s Versace, Jimmy Choo, Michael Kors, Jennifer Rochon Organizations: US Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Capri, European Union Locations: Capri, New York, Japan
The lawsuit accuses TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, of violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by allowing children to create accounts without their parents’ knowledge or consent. TikTok also collects and retains personal data from children, such as email addresses, phone numbers and location data, and fails to to comply with requests from parents to delete their children’s information, the suit alleges. The Justice Department claims that TikTok has continued to violate the law, as well as that 2019 court order. TikTok has also faced previous allegations that it failed to keep young users safe , and was fined in Europe for violating children’s privacy protections. The FTC began investigating potential violations of COPPA by TikTok earlier this year, sources told CNN at the time.
Persons: New York CNN — TikTok, TikTok, “ TikTok, Lina Khan, , Michael Hughes, , TikTok “ Organizations: New, New York CNN, US Justice Department, US Federal Trade Commission, COPPA, The Justice Department, FTC, TikTok, CNN, Department, Federal Trade Commission Locations: New York, TikTok, California, United States, Europe
The US Federal Trade Commission said on Monday it was suing to block Coach parent Tapestry’s $8.5 billion deal to buy Michael Kors owner Capri, saying it would eliminate competition. This comes at a time when several US lawmakers have sought increased scrutiny from the FTC of several multi-billion dollar deals that might risk higher prices and affect consumers. US antitrust enforcers had also come out with new merger guidelines in December, in a bid to encourage fair, open and competitive markets. But the FTC requested more information from the firms on their deal in November. “Capri Holdings strongly disagrees with the FTC’s decision,” the company said in a statement.
Persons: Michael Kors, Capri, Tapestry, Louis Vuitton, , Kate Spade, Jimmy Choo Organizations: US Federal Trade Commission, Capri, “ Capri Holdings, FTC, European Union, Japan
Shane Jones, a Microsoft principal software engineering lead, claimed that the company’s AI text-to-image generator Copilot Designer has “systemic issues” that cause it to frequently produce potentially offensive or inappropriate images, including sexualized images of women. He said he spent months testing Microsoft’s tool — as well as OpenAI’s DALL-E 3, the technology that Microsoft’s Copilot Designer is built on — and attempted to raise concerns internally before he alerted the FTC. He said he found more than 200 examples of “concerning images” created by Copilot Designer. Jones’ letter comes amid growing concerns that AI image generators — which are increasingly capable of producing convincing, photorealistic images — can cause harm by spreading offensive or misleading images. In his letter to Microsoft’s board of directors, Jones called on the company to take similar action.
Persons: Shane Jones, Jones, ” Jones, Lina Khan, , OpenAI’s DALL, Microsoft “, OpenAI, Jones ’, Taylor Swift, Gemini, Bob Ferguson Organizations: New, New York CNN, Microsoft, US Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Copilot, Google, Washington, US, Commerce, Science, Transportation Locations: New York, United States, White
In the US, romance scams resulting from catfishing have among the highest reported financial losses of internet crimes as a whole. A 2019 study found that young LGBTQ+ men in rural America experiencing catfishing on dating apps felt angry and fearful. She also emphasized the need to recognize today’s loneliness epidemic, which “leads people to perhaps be more susceptible to catfishing scams,” she said. Catfishing is not explicitly a crime, but the actions that often accompany catfishing, such as extortion for money, gifts or sexual images are crimes in many places. In the US, romance scams resulting from catfishing have among the highest reported financial losses of internet crimes as a whole.
Persons: CNN —, Nev Schulman, “ Megan ”, Schulman, Evita, scammers, Catfishing, Snapchat, , Ngo Minh Hieu, Chong, Hieu, Wang, , It’s, Fangzhou Wang, ” Wang, Maryna, WeChat Organizations: CNN, Cybersmile Foundation, Federation University, Fraud Intelligence, INTERPOL, Research, US Federal Trade Commission, SMS, University of Texas, Arlington, Getty, Facebook, UNICEF Locations: Alaska, Australia, Singapore, Southeast Asia, France, Germany, India, cryptocurrency, Vietnamese, America, catfishing, China, Cybersecurity, Australian
The new program includes a set markup for medication costs, a step toward drug pricing transparency. The retailer has been facing pressure from new models like Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs. They've been especially focused on pharmacy-benefit managers and the lack of transparency around how much drugs cost. How Mark Cuban changed drug pricingCuban's pharmacy buys drugs directly from manufacturers and sells them to consumers at a 15% markup, plus pharmacy fees. AdvertisementBut the announcement looks to be a step in the right direction for drug pricing transparency.
Persons: , Mark, Prem Shah, Mark Cuban, GoodRx, PBMs, Kroger, it's Organizations: CVS, Cuban, Plus, Service, Mark Cuban, Federal, US Federal Trade Commission, CVS Health, Kroger, Walgreens, Drug, Wall Street Locations: California
London CNN —The United Kingdom’s competition watchdog has wrapped up its antitrust investigations into Amazon’s and Meta’s retail platforms, saying it has secured commitments from the US tech giants that will ultimately benefit consumers. In theory, the more businesses are able to fairly compete for consumers’ cash, the more choice consumers ultimately have. Meta’s competitors will have the option to “opt out” of the tech firm using some of their data to improve Facebook Marketplace, the CMA said. That commitment, along with others, means Meta “cannot exploit advertising customers’ data to give itself an unfair advantage — and as such distort competition,” Pope said. A spokesperson for Meta told CNN it welcomed the CMA’s decision to close its investigation into Facebook Marketplace.
Persons: Ann Pope, ” Pope, Meta Organizations: London CNN, Markets Authority, CMA, Amazon, Facebook, CNN, Meta, Global, Big Tech, US Federal Trade Commission, European Union
Here’s a (non-exhaustive) account of how Musk has fundamentally changed Twitter since he made one of the most consequential acquisitions of the social media age. Many of Musk’s content and product decisions have also led to what civil society groups have reported as a troubling spread of hateful speech on the platform. He recommended that X users monitor the Israel-Hamas conflict by following an account known for spreading disinformation, before later deleting his post. And, in an attempt to prove that former Twitter executives deliberately discriminated against conservatives on the platform, Musk provided a handpicked group of journalists with selective access to company records. It is perhaps Musk’s all-consuming presence that has most undermined what users used to love about Twitter.
Persons: New York CNN — It’s, Elon Musk, Linda Yaccarino —, Yaccarino, ” Yaccarino, , it’s, Here’s, Musk, he’s, Donald Trump, LeBron James, James, , X, General Mills, ” Weeks, “ Elon, what’s, , Paul Pelosi, Dilbert, Scott Adams, George Soros, Joe Biden’s, Ron DeSantis ’, Robert F, Kennedy, Jr, Tucker Carlson, Vivek Ramaswamy, Benjamin Netanyahu, Hunter Biden Organizations: New, New York CNN, Elon, Twitter, US Federal Trade Commission, Securities, Exchange Commission, EU, Premium, Nintendo, NPR, PBS, Volkswagen, , Center, Defamation League, Wall Street, Florida Republican Gov, Fox, New York, Trump Locations: New York, Israel, United States, breakeven, New
That shift in legal doctrine was profound, shaping how courts have applied antitrust law ever since. Khan’s ideas have challenged the closest thing to a sacred cow in antitrust law. The most ambitious of those never became law, but Khan’s role in the probe, which Cicilline described as “critical,” helped further raise her profile. Amazon and Meta have both pushed for Khan to recuse herself from matters involving the companies, questioning her objectivity. The US Federal Trade Commission sued Amazon.com Inc. in a long-anticipated antitrust case, accusing the e-commerce giant of monopolizing online marketplace services by degrading quality for shoppers and overcharging sellers.
Persons: Lina Khan, Khan, Stephanie Keith, ” Khan, , Joe Biden, , William Kovacic, George W, Bush, Barry Lynn, Lynn, New America Foundation —, Obama, , ” Lina Khan, Rong Xu, ” Lynn, it’s, ’ ”, Reagan, Robert Hockett, Khan’s, David Cicilline, Lina, ” Cicilline, Cicilline, Justin Tallis, Biden, Trump, Douglas Farrar, Gary Gensler, Tom Williams, Jonathan Kanter, Roe, Wade, Kevin Kiley, Meta, she’s, “ We’ve, they’re, Federal Trade Commission Lina Khan, Al Drago, Kathleen Bradish, Bradish, Christine Wilson, Wilson, Noah Phillips, Gabby Jones, NetChoice, Carl Szabo, “ It’s, ” Szabo, There’s, ” Kovacic Organizations: CNN, Federal Trade Commission, Amazon, FTC, Big, Microsoft, Meta, Bloomberg, Getty, Republican, White House, Williams College, New America Foundation, Washington Monthly, Yale Law, Washington Post, Cornell Law School, Big Tech, Rhode, Rhode Island Democratic, Apple, Facebook, Cambridge, Activision, SEC, Financial Services, General Government, Securities and Exchange Commission, Capitol, Justice Department, Epic Games, California Republican, Washington , D.C, American Antitrust Institute, GOP, US Federal Trade Commission, Amazon.com Inc Locations: Big Tech, Robbinsville , New Jersey, Washington, Larchmont , New York, Rhode Island, Washington ,, New York
The judge assigned to the US Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against Amazon.com has recused himself from the case, according to a court document filed on Wednesday. Senior Judge John Coughenour was assigned to the case on Tuesday, when the antitrust lawsuit was filed against Amazon in federal court in Seattle. Coughenour, an appointee of Republican former President Ronald Reagan, did not cite a reason for dropping off the case in the court filing. The case has been re-assigned to US District Judge John Chun based on rotation, according to the document. Amazon is facing a series of similar but smaller private consumer cases filed in recent years that are pending in the same US federal court with Judge Ricardo Martinez and the FTC has argued its case should be assigned to the same judge to avoid duplication or conflict.
Persons: John Coughenour, Ronald Reagan, John Chun, Chun, Joe Biden, Judge Ricardo Martinez Organizations: US Federal Trade, Amazon.com, Amazon, Republican, US, Washington, Court of Appeals, FTC Locations: Seattle
New York CNN —Millions of Fortnite users can now claim their small part of the $245 million that the game’s parent company agreed to pay as part of a settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission. In a second and separate settlement, Epic also agreed to pay $245 million as refunds to consumers who were allegedly harmed by user-interface design choices that the FTC claimed were deceptive. The FTC is now notifying users who may be eligible to receive part of that $245 million settlement fund. Affected users may receive an email from the FTC over the next month with a claim number, or they can go directly to the settlement site and file a claim using their Epic account ID. Users have until January 17, 2024, to submit a claim to be included in the settlement class.
Persons: , Organizations: New, New York CNN, US Federal Trade Commission, Epic Games, FTC Locations: New York
CNN —Residents of Maui have suffered widespread devastation as wildfires ravage the Hawaiian island, along with Hawaii’s Big Island. Several sites help people find and support legitimate charities, including Charity Navigator, BBB Wise Giving Alliance, and CharityWatch. Dig deeper into an organization’s reputation after finding a legitimate charity you’re considering supporting. Look up the organization in the IRS’s Tax Exempt Organization Search. For larger disasters, like the Maui wildfires, GoFundMe told CNN they usually create a centralized hub of verified fundraisers.
Persons: Hurricane Dora, Patrick T, Fallon, you’ve, , It’s, GoFundMe, Don’t, Scottie Andrew Organizations: CNN —, CNN, Getty, US Federal Trade Commission, FTC, telltale Locations: Maui, Hurricane, Lahaina, Hawaii, AFP
July 20 (Reuters) - The US Federal Trade Commission is poised to pause its in-house trial against Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O) opening the door to potential settlement talks, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. Microsoft and FTC did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons: Mrinmay Dey, Shailesh Organizations: US Federal Trade Commission, Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, Bloomberg, FTC, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru
Warren Buffett exited his wager on Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard last quarter, filings show. Buffett built a $5 billion Activision stake, wagering the stock would hit Microsoft's offer of $95. One of Buffett's deputies oversaw Berkshire's purchase of 14.7 million Activision shares in 2021. After Microsoft bid $69 billion for Activision in January 2022, Buffett scooped up nearly 50 million shares as an arbitrage. The good news has sent Activision stock up 11% this month to $93, less than 2% below Microsoft's offer price.
Persons: Warren Buffett, Buffett, He's, Berkshire Hathaway, he'd, Charlie Munger, Charlie, Munger, Warren Organizations: Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, Activision, Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, US Federal Trade Commission Locations: Wall, Silicon, British
[1/2] The Pfizer logo is pictured on their headquarters building in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., November 9, 2020. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo/File PhotoJuly 14 (Reuters) - The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sought additional information and documentary material related to Pfizer's (PFE.N) proposed acquisition of Seagen Inc (SGEN.O), Seagen said on Friday. The antitrust agency sent the requests separately to both the companies, a regulatory filing said. Pfizer struck a $43 billion deal in March to acquire Seagen and its targeted cancer therapies, to counter the fall in COVID-related sales and generic competition for some top-selling drugs. The recent scrutiny by the antitrust agency to block Amgen's (AMGN.O) $27.8 billion deal to buy Horizon Therapeutics (HZNP.O) has made investors jittery around the Pfizer-Seagen deal as well.
Persons: Carlo Allegri, Seagen, Khushi, Shailesh Organizations: Pfizer, REUTERS, US Federal Trade Commission, Seagen Inc, Horizon Therapeutics, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City , New York, U.S, COVID, Bengaluru
A bit of background for the uninitiated:Men’s pro golf in North America has been dominated by the PGA Tour for decades. Last year, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund spent an estimated $2 billion to form a rival league, LIV Golf, to challenge PGA’s dominance. LIV attracted many of the sport’s top players away from the PGA Tour and Europe’s DP World Tour by offering more prize money. A long legal battle followed, and LIV golfers were banned from established tours. It is pronounced like “live.” As in, “Please don’t kill me, I want to live.”Oh, yeah — that brings me to the whole “why you should care” bit, and why many pro golfers and fans are apoplectic over the tie-up.
Persons: CNN Business ’, LIV Golf, LIV, “ LIV ”, Jamal Khashoggi, sportswashing, Phil Mickelson, Greg Norman, soccer’s Cristiano Ronaldo —, Chris Isidore, Bloomberg, it’s, , Peter Coy, , you’ll Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, PGA Tour, PGA, Bloomberg, US Justice Department, Tour, US Federal Trade Commission, New York Times Locations: New York, North America, Saudi, Saudi Arabia
As more devices in our lives run on software, manufacturers have started to exert more control over their products even after the customer has taken them home. In some cases, companies force customers to use their repair services, disabling the product if they try to fix it themselves. Companies are just beginning to monetize this control, with dystopian methods and the assistance of America's unbalanced copyright laws. For companies, the appeal of subscriptions is pretty straightforward: a steady stream of revenue and a lot more money raised from their customers over time. In other cases, companies have tried to block consumers from accessing certain features at all unless they pay up first.
UK blocks Microsoft takeover of Activision Blizzard
  + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com   time to read: +3 min
London CNN —The UK antitrust regulator has blocked Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, thwarting one of the tech industry’s biggest deals over concerns it will stifle competition in cloud gaming. “The cloud allows UK gamers to avoid buying expensive gaming consoles and PCs and gives them much more flexibility and choice as to how they play. Allowing Microsoft to take such a strong position in the cloud gaming market just as it begins to grow rapidly would risk undermining the innovation that is crucial to the development of these opportunities,” it added. “Alongside Microsoft, we can and will contest this decision, and we’ve already begun the work to appeal to the UK Competition Appeals Tribunal,” Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said in a statement. “Cloud gaming needs a free, competitive market to drive innovation and choice.”The UK cloud gaming market is expected to be worth up to £1 billion ($1.2 billion) by 2026, around 9% of the global market, according to the Competition and Markets Authority.
UK officials said Wednesday they will block the company’s $69 billion deal to acquire video game giant Activision-Blizzard. It could also complicate Microsoft’s future in the gaming industry and severely upend Activision, which was in the throes of an internal crisis in the months leading up to the deal. By buying Activision, Microsoft would become the third-largest video game publisher in the world after Tencent and Sony. (The UK dropped its concerns about the console market in March, while the European Union reportedly does not oppose the deal.) In a memo Wednesday to employees, Kotick attempted to strike an optimistic note, whatever the outcome of the deal may be.
The creepy secret behind online therapy
  + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Tanmoy Goswami | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +16 min
Crisis Text Line, now in its 10th year of operations, uses artificial intelligence to respond to people experiencing emotional abuse, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts. 'The vast majority of mental-health apps are exceptionally creepy'BetterHelp, a poster child of online therapy founded in 2013, calls itself "the world's largest therapy platform" and says it has over 2 million users. One of the first popular mental-health apps, PTSD Coach, was launched by the US Department of Veteran Affairs in 2011. But for mental-health companies these practices can undermine the very foundations of mental-health care: dignity, trust, and psychological safety. As Crisis Text Line wrote on its website extolling its deal with Loris: "Why sell T-shirts when you can sell what your organization does best?"
M&A deals involving large tech companies may get harder as US regulators ramp up scrutiny. If regulators increase scrutiny, it could deter other large tech companies from buying startups. More challenges to proposed tech M&A deals may also mean that the pool of potential acquirers shrinks. Of course, there are cases where a large tech company seeks to buy out a smaller, more innovative competitor because it is scared of getting displaced. ​​"There has to be the hope and dream of selling to a larger tech company some day," Sherman said.
Americans lost $1.3 billion to romance scams last year — an 164% increase from 2019 — and $3.3 billion in total since the start of the pandemic. According to the FTC report, the most popular way scammers reached out to their victims last year was through Instagram (29%) and Facebook (28%). And as these schemes get more widespread and more complex, the number of people falling for romance scams keeps growing. Confluence of crypto and romanceIf loneliness was the reason "why" for the soaring number of romance scams, then crypto is the "how." 1 payment method for romance scams last year was cryptocurrency.
Oura Inc. and Oura Health are in a legal battle over their names. Last March, Oura Health filed a petition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to cancel Oura Inc.'s trademark, claiming that the trademark could dilute Oura Health's brand and confuse consumers. If Oura Health prevails, Oura Inc. could lose its federal trademark, which would make it difficult to continue running the business without changing its name. Oura Health told Insider that both companies operate in the health and wellness industry, thus creating confusion. A representative for Oura Health said in a statement: "We first used our Oura mark long before Oura Inc. or Ouragin, Inc. were formed.
Washington CNN —Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard could harm competition by letting Microsoft restrict Activision’s video games to proprietary platforms such as Xbox, UK officials said Wednesday, in the latest challenge to the tech giant’s blockbuster acquisition. The UK’s competition regulator said the proposed deal, which would make Microsoft (MSFT) the world’s third-largest video game publisher, could hurt tens of millions of gamers in the country by leading to higher prices or fewer choices. The provisional finding by the UK Competition and Markets Authority is another sign of growing opposition to the deal by antitrust regulators worldwide. In December, the US Federal Trade Commission sued to block the acquisition over similar claims, and the European Union is also evaluating the deal. Cloud gaming services grant players access to video games without the need for downloading the games to a local PC or console.
The Inflation Reduction Act passed last summer allots funds to explore a free federal tax filing service. The head of TurboTax's parent company says that a government-run tax filing service would be unethical. Intuit, a global financial technology platform, owns TurboTax, one of the leading paid tax filing services. In the US, tax filing services like TurboTax and H&R Block spend millions of dollars lobbying against free tax filing services. Commercial providers such as TurboTax and Tax Act offer their own free services for those earning under a certain amount.
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