The DC Circuit Court of Appeals has blocked Apple’s efforts to intervene in the federal antitrust trial against Google that jeopardizes Apple’s lucrative search exclusivity deal, Ars Technica reports. In February, US District Court Judge Amit Mehta had already denied Apple’s request to take a limited role in the remedies phase of the Google Search monopoly hearing. The latest ruling upholds Judge Mehta’s decision that Apple simply took too long to file its request, according to MediaDailyNews. Apple had filed a motion to intervene in the trial on December 23rd for a case that started in 2020. With Apple’s efforts to protect its search deal with Google hanging in the balance, the company will have to settle for briefs outside…

The United Kingdom’s mobile browser market is “not working well for consumers and businesses” according to a final report from Britain’s competition watchdog, which says that Apple and Google are largely to blame. An independent inquiry group has concluded its mobile browsers investigation for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), identifying Apple’s policies around iOS, Safari, and WebKit as making it difficult for third-party web browser providers to compete and restricting the market as a result. Google’s Android mobile ecosystem is also complicit in impeding competition, according to the CMA report, albeit to a lesser extent. The issues flagged by the investigation include Apple requiring all browsers on iOS to run on its WebKit browser engine, giving Safari preferential access…

There is a good chance that Google will be forced to sell off its Chrome browser, as the U.S. Department of Justice under Donald Trump is continuing to call for Google to divest the browser. On Friday, the DoJ sent a new proposal [PDF] to the court in its ongoing antitrust lawsuit against Google, and the updated document still recommends that Google sell Chrome. Last year, Google was found to have a search monopoly, and antitrust regulators have since been deciding on the actions that should be taken to address Google's anticompetitive practices. The DoJ first asked the court to force the sale of Chrome back in November, under the Biden administration. Google donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund,…

Apple wants to defend its multi-billion dollar search engine deal with Google, which is in danger because Google has been found guilty of violating antitrust law. Apple has asked the court handling Google's lawsuit with the U.S. government for an emergency stay [PDF], so that Apple has time to intervene and plead its case before a remedy is decided on. The U.S. Department of Justice sued Google for anti-competitve behavior in the search market way back in 2020, and after a lengthy legal battle, the DoJ won. A main component of the lawsuit was Google's deal with Apple, which sees Google pay billions annually to be the default search engine for Safari. The court decided that the agreement between Apple…

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has expressed concerns that Apple and Google’s dominance in the mobile ecosystem may be hindering innovation in smartphone browsers. The regulator is considering a more in-depth investigation into the matter, leveraging its newly granted powers. Reuters: ‎ The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Friday it had provisionally found the mobile browser markets were not working well for UK businesses and millions of phone users. The CMA’s independent inquiry group also proposed that no further action be taken on cloud gaming given primary concerns had been addressed. ‎ MacDailyNews Take: Regulators gonna do what regulators do. We are currently about 1/4th of the way to being sustainable with Substack subscriptions. Please tell…

In a significant legal battle, U.S. DOJ prosecutors have argued that Google should be forced to divest its Chrome browser and share data and search results with competitors to dismantle its alleged monopoly on online search. The prosecutors proposals include ending its deal with Apple to be the default search engine in Safair, and, if remedies fail, selling Android, among potential solutions to address the company’s alleged monopoly abuse. Reuters: ‎ “Google’s unlawful behavior has deprived rivals not only of critical distribution channels but also distribution partners who could otherwise enable entry into these markets by competitors in new and innovative ways,” the DOJ and state antitrust enforcers said in a court filing, opens new tab on Wednesday. Their proposals…