FTC finds Google did not violate antitrust or anticompetition laws News
FTC finds Google did not violate antitrust or anticompetition laws
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[JURIST] The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) [official website] announced [press release] on Thursday that Google [corporate website] did not violate antitrust or anticompetition laws. Google’s practice of favoring its own services in search results, to the detriment of its competitors, has been under scrutiny. Though Google will be required to make changes to its business practices that the FTC believes could stifle competition, the investigation did not produce evidence to justify legal action against the company, and the commission voted unanimously to close the investigation on Google’s search-related practices. Thursday’s announcement is a major victory [NYT report] for Google in its ongoing dispute with regulators.

Google has faced numerous allegations regarding its business practices over the past several years, both in the US and abroad. Last month, an Italian court overturned [JURIST report] a conviction against Google executives for privacy violations. In November a federal judge approved [JURIST report] a $22.5 million fine against Google for privacy misrepresentations. In February a federal judge dismissed [JURIST report] a challenge to Google’s privacy changes by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) [advocacy website]. Earlier that month, a French court ruled [JURIST report] that Google Maps was practicing unfair competition.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Indian National Congress founded

The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on December 28, 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. In subsequent decades, the so-called Congress Party would advocate for Indian independence from the UK, which was eventually achieved in 1947. The first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected as a member of the INC. Learn more about the history and founding of the Indian National Congress.

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On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court originally brought by Michael Newdow, a parent who unsuccessfully objected to his daughter's school district policy requiring daily recitation of the Pledge. The court ruled that Newdow had no standing.

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On December 28, 2007, the Kingdom of Nepal's interim parliament ended the country's monarchy and established the Republic of Nepal. Free elections were held on April 10 of the following year to elect a Constituent Assembly.

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