Articles Posted in Antitrust

On Tuesday, a California federal court judge certified a $6 billion class action suit against the National Football League (NFL) over the cost of its “Sunday Ticket” package with DirecTV. The suit alleges that the NFL illegally broadcast games and drove up the cost of its Sunday Ticket package, which provides viewers with out-of-market and…

Google Play customers won class-action status on Monday in a lawsuit alleging that Google artificially inflates prices in its app store.

The lawsuit alleges violations of antitrust and unfair competition laws, based on Amazon policies toward third-party sellers that offer their products on other online platforms for lower prices.

The FTC filed suit against Meta on Wednesday, seeking to block its acquisition of Within Unlimited, the creator of an extremely popular virtual reality fitness app, over anti-competitive concerns.

Sixteen universities known for their exclusivity and high price tags have been accused of violating antitrust laws and artificially inflating the cost of attendance for students receiving financial aid.

Amazon warns that new bills in Congress could undermine the businesses of third-party sellers on the Amazon marketplace, and it hopes to enlist sellers in its opposition to the bills.

On Tuesday, August 4, 2021, SkinnySchool LLC and Mint Rose Day Spa LLC filed a class action lawsuit against Google LLC in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California. The lawsuit claims that Google retained its dominance by control in online advertising when it made a deal with Facebook that gave Facebook an advantage in virtual auctions related to ad rates, thus limiting revenue for online publishers.

A bipartisan group of state attorneys general argues that Google has used improper anti-competitive methods to force developers and consumers to use its app store.

In an antitrust case brought by Epic Games, Inc., Apple has asked the court to dismiss a claim that its iOS is an essential facility. While Epic’s claim iOS is an essential facility is only one of ten counts alleged against Apple, a win for Apple on this issue could be impactful.

A proposed state law would require app store operators such as Apple and Google to allow app developers to use their own payment processing systems, thus avoiding fees for the use of systems provided by app stores.