Tag Archives: Business

Visa slapped with a DOJ antitrust lawsuit

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The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa. The lawsuit alleges that the financial firm holds a monopoly over debit network markets allowing it to charge banks and markets with exorbitant fees that get passed onto consumers and keep rival companies like PayPal and Square from competing on their level.

Bloomberg first reported on Monday that the DOJ planned to file an antitrust suit against Visa following a multiyear investigation into Visa’s business practices starting in 2020. Visa attempted to acquire the fintech startup Plaid with a $5.3 billion bid but the DOJ filed a lawsuit blocking the deal claiming the acquisition would eliminate a competitive threat that challenged Visa’s powerful control of debit markets.

Visa dropped the bid a year later to avoid any further legal entanglements but the DOJ continued investigating Visa’s business practices.

The DOJ alleges in its latest lawsuit that Visa’s “web of exclusionary agreements” with banks and businesses helped strengthen its market dominance and “smother” any potential competitors. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that Visa “unlawfully amassed the power to extract fees that far exceed what it could charge in a competitive market.

“Merchants and banks pass along those costs to customers, either by raising prices or reducing quality or service,” the statement reads. “As a result, Visa’s unlawful conduct affects not just the price of one thing — but the price of nearly everything.”

Visa's General Counsel Julie Rottenberg told Engadget in an emailed statement that the DOJ's lawsuit is "meritless" and that they plan to vigorously defend themselves in court. 

"Today's lawsuit ignores the reality that Visa is just one of many competitors in a debit space that is growing, with entrants who are thriving," Rottenberg said by email. "When businesses and consumers choose Visa, it is because of our secure and reliable network, world-class fraud protection, and the value we provide. We are proud of the payments network we have built, the innovation we advance, and the economic opportunity we enable."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/visa-slapped-with-a-doj-antitrust-lawsuit-204710873.html?src=rss

Visa slapped with a DOJ antitrust lawsuit

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The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa. The lawsuit alleges that the financial firm holds a monopoly over debit network markets allowing it to charge banks and markets with exorbitant fees that get passed onto consumers and keep rival companies like PayPal and Square from competing on their level.

Bloomberg first reported on Monday that the DOJ planned to file an antitrust suit against Visa following a multiyear investigation into Visa’s business practices starting in 2020. Visa attempted to acquire the fintech startup Plaid with a $5.3 billion bid but the DOJ filed a lawsuit blocking the deal claiming the acquisition would eliminate a competitive threat that challenged Visa’s powerful control of debit markets.

Visa dropped the bid a year later to avoid any further legal entanglements but the DOJ continued investigating Visa’s business practices.

The DOJ alleges in its latest lawsuit that Visa’s “web of exclusionary agreements” with banks and businesses helped strengthen its market dominance and “smother” any potential competitors. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that Visa “unlawfully amassed the power to extract fees that far exceed what it could charge in a competitive market.

“Merchants and banks pass along those costs to customers, either by raising prices or reducing quality or service,” the statement reads. “As a result, Visa’s unlawful conduct affects not just the price of one thing — but the price of nearly everything.”

Visa's General Counsel Julie Rottenberg told Engadget in an emailed statement that the DOJ's lawsuit is "meritless" and that they plan to vigorously defend themselves in court. 

"Today's lawsuit ignores the reality that Visa is just one of many competitors in a debit space that is growing, with entrants who are thriving," Rottenberg said by email. "When businesses and consumers choose Visa, it is because of our secure and reliable network, world-class fraud protection, and the value we provide. We are proud of the payments network we have built, the innovation we advance, and the economic opportunity we enable."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/visa-slapped-with-a-doj-antitrust-lawsuit-204710873.html?src=rss

Apple Store employees in Oklahoma City ratify their first union contract

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Employees at an Apple Store in Oklahoma City's Penn Square Mall have voted to ratify their first collectively-bargained contract. The store's workers are part of the Communications Workers of America, operating as Apple Retail Union-CWA Local 6016. The employees' three-year agreement with Apple includes the following, according to a press release from CWA:

  • "Wage increases of up to 11.5% over the next three years."

  • "Worker involvement in scheduling and guaranteed paid time off to vote."

  • "A safer and more democratic workplace with a grievance and arbitration process and the establishment of joint Safety and Health and Working Relations committees."

  • "Job protection in the event of a store closure or relocation and severance pay."

  • "Guaranteed paid time off, health and other benefits."

It's worth pointing out that though the CWA press release says the wage increases are "of up to 11.5 percent over the next three years," Apple has said that this number is actually an average 10 percent increase over three years instead.

An Apple spokesperson said “At Apple, we work hard to provide an excellent experience for our team members and our customers. We have always paid our retail teams in the top tier of the market and we provide exceptional benefits for all full- and part-time employees. Throughout this process, we have bargained in good faith and this agreement allows Penn Square team members to enjoy similar performance-based wage increases this year as last year, along with the same medical and time away benefits our U.S. retail employees currently receive.”

Apple also shared more details around compensation and wages like how the tentative agreement provides an average 10 percent increase over 3 years. Penn Square Mall employees will also be able to participate in the scheduling options that were provided to all other US stores in 2022, and held to the same availability guidelines as the rest of the fleet with no exceptions. PSQ members will receive the same medical and time off benefits as all US team members, and subject to the same documented coaching, discipline and misconduct practices that apply across all of Apple's US stores.

Apple's spokesperson also said the agreement includes the creation of a safety committee at the PSQ location, like the one at all its other stores. A working relations committee, made up of two representatives from the union and two from the company, will meet twice a year.

Today's news caps off years of preparation to unionize and secure a contract for the Penn Square Mall Apple Store, which began organizing in early 2022. The parties reached a tentative agreement in early September after a unanimous strike authorization vote in August and a store picket.

The Oklahoma City employees are the second group of Apple retail workers to reach a contract through their union. An Apple Store in Maryland was the first of the tech company's retail stores to unionize, joining the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in June 2022.

Update, September 25 2024, 4:55PM ET: This story has been updated to include Apple's statement as well as details the company's spokesperson shared. We also clarified that there's a discrepancy between what the CWA press release says is the percentage for wage increase over the next three years and what Apple says it is.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-store-employees-in-oklahoma-city-ratify-their-first-union-contract-190218680.html?src=rss

HP’s Print AI will offer a better way to print websites

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HP just announced HP Print AI, which is being advertised as “the industry’s first intelligent print” experience. Beyond squeezing in tech’s two favorite letters (AI), the software looks to “simplify and enhance printing from setup to support.” There are several tools here, but the most interesting aspect is something called Perfect Output.

This could actually solve the problem of printing from web pages, which typically produces something just a hair above absolute garbage. The company says the embedded algorithms will reduce all of that unnecessary white space and will get rid of ads.

Image size will also be optimized, so printing from a website should look about as good as something that came from a word processor. HP says everything will “fit perfectly on the page for the first time.” Perfect Output isn’t just for websites, as the company says it’ll also make short work of spreadsheets, which are another frustrating thing to print out.

This feature begins rolling out today, but only to select customers as a beta. HP told Engadget that Perfect Output will work with any of the company’s printers, so long as the correct driver is installed and it’s connected to a Windows 10 or Windows 11 machine. Once some customer feedback comes in, it should go into a wider release.

HP Print AI will also use artificial intelligence to customize support for each user, with the company saying that its “intelligent technology anticipates” the needs of consumers. HP says this will be especially useful when it comes to setup and for remembering user preferences. There’s also a chatbot in there that allows for language-based queries, which runs off of a proprietary LLM the company calls a "print language model." So it's technically a, sigh, PLM. 

For now, these tools are tied to driver software. HP says that they’ll be featured prominently in a forthcoming app update scheduled for next year. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/hps-print-ai-will-offer-a-better-way-to-print-websites-170523565.html?src=rss

Qualcomm is reportedly eyeing a takeover of Intel

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It seems that Qualcomm sees Intel’s struggling business as a potential opportunity. The San Diego-based chipmaker has reportedly expressed an interest in taking over Intel “in recent days,” according to a new report in The Wall Street Journal.

Though the report cautions that such a deal is “far from certain,” it would be a major upheaval in the US chip industry. It would also, as The WSJ notes, likely raise antitrust questions. But Qualcomm’s reported interest in a takeover underscores just how much Intel’s business has struggled over the last year.

Intel announced plans to cut 15,000 jobs last month as its quarterly losses climbed to $1.6 billion. Its foundry business is also struggling, with an operating loss of $2.8 billion last quarter. CEO Pat Gelsinger announced plans earlier this week to separate its foundry business into a separate unit from the rest of Intel.

Intel declined to comment on the report. Qualcomm didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/qualcomm-is-reportedly-eyeing-a-takeover-of-intel-210920969.html?src=rss

Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are suing Palworld creator Pocketpair

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Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Pocketpair in Tokyo. Pocketpair is the Japanese video game developer behind Palworld, a game people have been describing as a Pokémon parody, featuring cute gun-toting monsters. The game, released in Early Access form on January 18, was an instant hit, selling 15 million copies on Steam and crossing 25 million players within just a month. 

The Pokémon Company said a few days after Palworld came out that it was going to investigate a game "released in January 2024" and will "take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to Pokémon." Looks like the investigation is over, and it has decided to take legal action. 

"This lawsuit seeks an injunction against infringement and compensation for damages on the grounds that Palworld, a game developed and released by the Defendant, infringes multiple patent rights," Nintendo said in its announcement of the lawsuit. 

Pocketpair previously said that its game is more like Ark Survival Evolved and Valheim than Pokémon. Company CEO Takuro Mizobe claimed that Palworld "cleared legal reviews" and that no lawsuits were filed against Pocketpair regarding its development. While Palworld's monsters would look familiar to Pokémon fans, it takes on a darker tone. You can choose to play as a friend to the monsters known as "Pals" and fight off the poachers trying to kill them. But you can also kill and eat Pals, make them fight to the death and even sell them into slavery.

Shortly after Nintendo announced its lawsuit, Pocketpair responded. "At this moment, we are unaware of the specific patents we are accused of infringing upon, and we have not been notified of such details," the company wrote. "It is truly unfortunate that we will be forced to allocate significant time to matters unrelated to game development due to this lawsuit. However, we will do our utmost for our fans, and to ensure that indie game developers are not hindered or discouraged from pursuing their creative ideas."

Update, September 19 2024, 9:40AM ET: This story has been updated with Pocketpair's response to Nintendo's lawsuit.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-and-the-pokemon-company-are-suing-palworld-creator-pocketpair-031320550.html?src=rss

Report: Google offered to sell AdX to end EU antitrust suit

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In an effort to quell monopoly concerns in the EU, Google reportedly offered to sell its AdX advertising marketplace. Sources told Reuters that European publishers rejected Google's offer, arguing that the company would have to divest more in order to dismantle the conflicts of interest in its online advertising operations. Lawyers familiar with the antitrust cases said this was the first time Google had offered to sell off an asset in response to this type of lawsuit.

Despite this alleged sale offer, Google is publicly standing firm about its adtech business. "As we have said before, the European Commission's case about our third-party display advertising products rests on flawed interpretations of the ad-tech sector, which is fiercely competitive and rapidly evolving. We remain committed to this business," a Google rep told the publication. We've reached out to Google and will update this story if we receive any additional comment from the company.

Google's control over online advertisements has raised concerns around the globe. Regulators have questioned whether the company's activity in multiple stages of the adtech supply chain allows it to favor its own businesses, creating an unfair advantage that could hurt competition and increase advertising prices.

The European Commission began this push against the company's ad arm last June. The UK's competition watchdog also raised the alarm over a possible Google ad monopoly earlier this month. Google is also currently being sued by the Department of Justice over the same topic in the US.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/report-google-offered-to-sell-adx-to-end-eu-antitrust-suit-203612819.html?src=rss

MrBeast and Amazon are being sued by contestants of their planned competition show

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A lawsuit on behalf of five unnamed contestants who participated in YouTuber MrBeast’s Beast Games was filed on September 16 in Los Angeles against MrBeast as well as Amazon, which plans to distribute the show. It’s also seeking class-action status.

Beast Games is the brainchild of Jimmy Donaldson, also known as MrBeast. This game show had participants go through challenges for a shot at $5 million in cash. There would only be one winner out of 1,000 participants, so the money would only go to the last person standing.

When the five contestants participated in the game show, they each wanted to win the money, but nothing prepared them for the poor conditions, mistreatment and harassment they experienced. Among the 14 complaints are failure to pay minimum wages, sexual harassment, false advertising and failure to provide uninterrupted meal and rest breaks.

The plaintiffs filed this lawsuit on behalf of all Beast Games contestants besides themselves. Much of the lawsuit’s content is hidden, including the contestants’ names and the exact details of their mistreatment. Of note were the female contestants’ experiences. The lawyers claimed that the work environment there “fostered a culture of misogyny and sexism where Production Staff did nothing.”

The contestants were considered employees under California law, but MrBeast and Amazon allegedly misclassified them to obtain a tax credit of around $2 million. They also arrived on set to discover that instead of 1,000 total competitors, there were far more people playing for the prize, thus lowering everyone's chances of coming out a winner. According to the New York Times, the total number of contestants was about 2,000, something MrBeast said was the plan all along. The plaintiffs claimed this significantly reduced anyone’s chances of winning and was considered false advertising. Even worse, the show organizers did not grant them meal and rest breaks as required by California law. According to the lawsuit, some of the show participants developed injuries that “continue to persist and will persist from the future.”

This isn’t the first time MrBeast has been involved in a lawsuit. Last year, he sued Virtual Dining Concepts (VDC) for making subpar MrBeast Burgers, ruining his reputation. VDC countersued MrBeast, seeking $100 million in damages.

According to a report from Variety, MrBeast and Amazon have yet to comment on the lawsuit, with the former refusing to. Beast Games, slated for an Amazon Prime Video release, still has no announced release date.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/mrbeast-and-amazon-are-being-sued-by-contestants-of-their-planned-competition-show-152613641.html?src=rss

Google wins appeal against $1.7 billion EU fine for ‘abusive’ advertising practices

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The amount of fines Google has to pay in Europe may have become just a bit smaller. It has successfully convinced the European Union's General Court to annul the €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) penalty levied against it back in 2019 for what the European Commission described as "abusive practices in online advertising." According to the Financial Times, the General Court agreed with the commission's assessment that Google did block rival advertisers from its platform. However, it argued that the commission failed to take into account "all the relevant circumstances" when it assessed how long the company had implemented anti-competitive practices. 

The commission, under competition chief Margrethe Vestager, found back in 2019 that Google had prohibited publishers from placing search adverts from competitors on its search results pages from 2006 until 2009. It changed its rules slightly in 2009, but it wasn't until 2016 that it removed the clause pertaining to the restriction in its contracts. The fine for this particular case was larger than expected, because the commission said it took into account "the duration and gravity of the infringement."

"This case is about a very narrow subset of text-only search ads placed on a limited number of publishers' websites," Google said in a statement to the Financial Times. "We made changes to our contracts in 2016 to remove the relevant provisions, even before the commission’s decision. We are pleased that the court has recognized errors in the original decision and annulled the fine. We will review the full decision closely." Meanwhile, the commission told the publication that it "will carefully study the judgment and reflect on possible next steps." It could still appeal the court's decision.

This is just one of the multiple antitrust fines the European Commission has slapped against Google over the past years. Earlier this month, EU's highest court upheld a different $2.7 billion penalty against the company. The commission imposed that fine on Google back in 2017, because it found that the company, as Vestager explained, "abused its market dominance as a search engine by promoting its own comparison shopping service in its search results, and demoting those of competitors." 

Vestager is stepping down from her role as the European Union's commissioner for competition within the next few weeks. She has been tough on big tech companies throughout her run, and the market abuse cases she has filed over the years led to the creation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a regulation meant to prevent the largest players in the industry from abusing their market power.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-wins-appeal-against-17-billion-eu-fine-for-abusive-advertising-practices-123006698.html?src=rss

Amazon accused of deceptive ‘sales’ of its own products in lawsuit

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Amazon is facing a class-action lawsuit that accuses the company of misleading pricing practices. The suit alleges that Amazon deceived shoppers by showing inflated list prices for Fire TVs, thus making discounts seem more significant than they actually were.

The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington and claims that the company regularly adopted this practice, calling it a "persistent and uniform scheme." The suit alleges that Amazon created "fake list prices" for its own Fire TVs, making the apparent "discounts" deceptive.

It goes on to accuse the company of tricking its customers into buying Fire TVs by omitting "critical information" concerning the length of the sale and when the list price was actually in use. This allegedly led to Amazon customers spending "more money than they otherwise would have if not for the purported time-limited bargains." The suit claims that "many of the Fire TVs have not been anywhere near the advertised list prices for a year or more."

The lawsuit alleges violations of Washington’s Consumer Protection Act, which bans “unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce.” Plaintiff David Ramirez seeks compensatory and punitive damages, in addition to an injunction to stop Amazon from continuing the alleged practices. The suit seeks compensatory damages "in amounts determined by the court and/or jury" and prejudgment interest on everything awarded. 

The lawsuit references a similar case in California from 2021 in which Amazon was barred from using false or misleading list prices in its advertising. The company also agreed to pay around $2 million in penalties and restitution as part of that settlement. As for this case, it’s still early days. 

An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment when approached by Seattle-based news organization KIRO 7. We reached out to the company for our own comment and will report back when we get a response. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/amazon-accused-of-deceptive-sales-of-its-own-products-in-lawsuit-193027775.html?src=rss