EU fines Google €2.42 billion for antitrust violation News
EU fines Google €2.42 billion for antitrust violation

The European Commission [official website] fined Google and its parent company, Alphabet, € 2.42 billion Tuesday for violating [press release] EU antitrust restrictions. The decision focused on Google’s comparative shopping service, which premiered as “Froogle” in 2004, and is known today as Google Shopping. The Commission determined that Google used its “dominance in general internet search” to unfairly promote its shopping service instead of promoting Google Shopping on its merits. Google gave its Google Shopping prominent placement in its own search results and subsequently demoted the placement of other similar services. The advantage Google gave its shopping service was deemed illegal by the Commission.

High-profile antitrust litigation has been ongoing in 2017. In May EU antitrust regulators fined Facebook $122 million for misleading information [JURIST report] regarding a deal for WhatsApp. In February the National Collegiate Athletic Association and 11 conferences agreed to a $208.7 million settlement [JURIST report] in a class action suit brought by former college athletes alleging their scholarships were illegally capped. In January a US federal court ruled [JURIST report] that plaintiffs may sue Apple for violating antitrust regulations by forcing users to purchase apps exclusively through their app store.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Justice Department brings anit-trust action against AT&T

On November 20, 1974, the Department of Justice filed its final anti-trust suit against AT&T. United States v. AT&T was ultimately settled out of court with an agreement that the corporation would break up its monopoly on phone service throughout the country.

Nuremberg war crimes trials began

On November 20, 1945, the war crimes trials of Nazi World War II leaders began in the German city of Nuremberg. Review the Nuremberg Tribunal's Charter and the verdicts and sentences handed down on major war figures.

Winston Churchill born

On November 20, 1874, Sir Winston Churchill was born in Woodstock, England. He would go on to lead the United Kingdom as Prime Minister through World War II. Toward the end of the war, Churchill worked with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to craft the treaties and accords that have defined the world since WWII. A 2002 poll by the BBC declared Churchill the Greatest Briton of all time.

New Jersey ratifies Bill of Rights

New Jersey ratified the Bill of Rights, a set of 10 fundamental amendments to the US Constitution, on November 20, 1789, becoming the first state to do so. The state also ratified an amendment on federal representation which ultimately failed. Additionally, New Jersey rejected an amendment on congressional salaries, which would eventually become the 27th Amendment more than 200 years later. Read the articles ratified by New Jersey.