Visa will no longer be buying fintech upstart Plaid, as the companies on Tuesday announced the “mutual termination” of the $5.3 billion agreement that was signed one year ago and opposed by U.S. antitrust regulators. From a report: This is more about the rising value of fintech companies than it is about the U.S. Justice Department. It also turns Plaid into…
Tag: Justice Department
Journalists Scrutinize QAnon’s Role in Capitol Hill Mob — And Its Hosting Infrastructure
On Thursday Axios tried to assess QAnon’s role in the mob that stormed America’s Capitol building:
Adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory, who imagine a vast deep-state cabal of pedophiles arrayed against Trump, have for years insisted that a moment of reckoning for their enemies is imminent. QAnon believers have largely accepted that Trump is waiting for the right time to bring…
SolarWinds Hackers Accessed DOJ Emails, But there’s No Indication They Reached Classified Systems
Hackers who tapped into government networks through SolarWinds software potentially accessed about 3% of the Justice Department’s email accounts, but there’s no indication they accessed classified systems, a DOJ spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday. From a report: The DOJ Office of the Chief Information Officer learned of the hack the day of Christmas Eve, according to the statement, where agents…
Are Tech Companies Censoring Their Users For Access to China’s Market?
This week MSNBC published an opinion piece from a researcher on China (who works on internet censorship and freedom of expression issues) from the advocacy group Human Rights Watch. It examines specific exchanges between a China-based Zoom executive and employees at the company’s California headquarters (taken from the 47-page complaint filed by America’s Justice Department) showing how Zoom disrupted video meetings…
Will America’s Next President Break Up Facebook?
With 25 days until Joe Biden becomes America’s next president, Politico writes that throughout the US government, “From lawmakers on Capitol Hill to antitrust enforcers at the Federal Trade Commission, Washington is training its sights on the world’s largest social network like never before.” Biden’s antitrust enforcers will take ownership of a lawsuit the FTC filed this month threatening to dismantle…
Oracle’s Hidden Hand Is Behind the Google Antitrust Lawsuits
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: With great fanfare last week, 44 attorneys general hit Google with two antitrust complaints, following a landmark lawsuit the Justice Department and 11 states lodged against the Alphabet Inc. unit in October. What’s less known is that Oracle Corp. spent years working behind the scenes to convince regulators and law enforcement agencies in…
Justice Department Sues Walmart, Saying it Fueled the Nation’s Opioid Crisis
The Justice Department sued Walmart on Tuesday for what it said was the company’s role in fueling the nation’s opioid crisis by allowing its network of pharmacies to fill millions of prescriptions for opioids, thousands of which authorities said were suspicious. From a report: The 160-page civil complaint alleges that the retail giant knew that its system for detecting illegitimate prescriptions…
DOJ Case Against Google Likely Won’t Go To Trial Until Late 2023, Judge Says
The Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit against Google likely won’t go to trial until late 2023, Judge Amit Mehta said at a status hearing on Friday. Both parties agreed that seemed like a likely timeline and the judge set September 12, 2023, as a tentative date to start the trial. CNBC reports: The proposed timeline shows just how long Google (and likely…
Google Sued by States for Abuse of Search-Market Dominance
A bipartisan coalition of states sued Alphabet’s Google Thursday alleging broad antitrust violations in the online search market, marking the third U.S. case against the search giant in two months. From a report: The lawsuit, led by Colorado, Iowa and other states, marks the latest escalation of the antitrust battle against Google. It comes a day after 10 Republican state attorneys…
Texas Plans To Sue Google for Alleged Anticompetitive Behavior
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Wednesday that he will soon file a multistate antitrust lawsuit against Google and its advertising business, alleging that the company has stifled competition and enjoys “monopolistic power.” From a report: In a tweet, Paxton said the lawsuit will be filed on Wednesday. “This goliath of a company is using its power to manipulate the market,…