The core of the U.S. Department of Justice’s argument that Google is an illegal monopoly is a process that involves four taps and a swipe on an iPhone. DOJ antitrust lawsuit targets Google’s multibillion-dollar default search pact with Apple Austin Carr for Bloomberg News: ‎ That’s what it takes to switch search engines. To explain it step by step, prosecutors called to the witness stand on Sept. 26 one of Apple Inc.’s most powerful executives, Eddy Cue. Presented with screenshots of an iPhone displayed on a flat screen, Cue sounded like a technician at the Genius Bar. “The Settings app, by default when you buy a new phone, is on the main screen,” he said. “When you tap on that…

A group of French app developers that accused Apple of overcharging them to participate in its App Store have dropped their lawsuit in U.S. federal court after a judge last month gutted the case. Reuters: ‎ The plaintiffs, including Figaro news app developer Société du Figaro and Le Geste, an association of French publishers, said in a filing on Wednesday in California federal court that they were voluntarily dismissing their case. A lawyer for the app developers, Steve Berman of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, told Reuters that they planned to file an action against Apple in France. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland ruled last month that claims in the lawsuit based on foreign sales are barred “without…

A Russian court rejected Apple’s appeal against the alleged abuse of its dominant market position in terms of in-app payments, for which it was fined 1.2 billion roubles ($12.1 million) in January, the RIA news agency reported on Tuesday. Reuters: ‎ Russia’s federal anti-monopoly service (FAS) fined Apple in January over what it said was the U.S. company’s abuse of its dominant market position. In a statement, the regulator said it had previously found that Apple forced Russian developers to use Apple’s payment services with the iOS App Store, in violation of Russia’s competition rules. The FAS’s decision entered legal force in May after it was approved by a Moscow court, RIA reported. Apple was appealing both the decision and…

A full-blown Apple search engine to compete with Alphabet subsidiary Google may be closer than you think, Mark Gurman writes for Bloomberg News. Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News: ‎ Apple has the wherewithal to launch its own search engine, a replacement for Google… For years, Apple Inc. pondered building a search engine that could replace Google as the preferred option on its devices… Right now, Apple gets a cut of Google’s search ad revenue, a commission that has brought in roughly $8 billion annually in recent years. But imagine if Apple could keep more of that money… Apple knows this. That’s one reason why it’s been tinkering with search technology for years… Google may be dominant in search, but the…

Microsoft discussed selling its Bing search engine to Apple around 2020, a deal that would have replaced Google as the default option on Apple’s Macs, iPads, Apple Watches, and iPhones, Bloomberg News reports citing “people with knowledge of the matter.” Mark Gurman and Dina Bass for Bloomberg News: ‎ Executives from Microsoft met with Apple’s services chief, Eddy Cue, who brokered the current search engine relationship with Alphabet Inc.’s Google, to discuss the possibility of acquiring Bing, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the situation was confidential. The talks were exploratory and never reached an advanced stage, they said. ‎ MacDailyNews Take: Exploratory talks: ‎ Microsoft: Hey, you wanna buy a search engine that has no…

A U.S. judge on Wednesday ordered Apple to face a private antitrust lawsuit by payment card issuers accusing the company of thwarting competition for its Apple Pay mobile wallet. Apple Pay Jonathan Stempel and Mike Scarcella for Reuters: ‎ U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White said the plaintiffs could try to prove that Apple violated the federal Sherman antitrust law by enforcing a 100% monopoly over the domestic market for tap-and-pay wallets for iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches. The Oakland, California-based judge also dismissed a “tying” claim, which accused Apple of requiring purchasers of iOS devices to buy Apple Pay or forego purchases of competing wallets. The proposed class action is led by Illinois’ Consumers Co-op Credit Union, and Iowa’s Affinity…