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The WSJ discloses that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition 160 page report in 2012 described Google's anti-compettitive practices and recommended a anit-trust lawsuit for three anti-competitive practices. The WSJ obtained documents based on the Freedom of Information Act. Mullins and Winkler provide a detailed account of the practices cited in the report as anti-competitive. The FTC Commissioners did not act on the report and instead voted unanimously in 2013 to end the investigation after Google agreed to some voluntary changes. The report stated a different conclusion: Google's "conduct has resulted-and will result- in real harm to consumers and to innovation in the online search and advertising markets." Mullins and Winkler point out that this report shows Google's statement that no wrongdoing was found is incorrect.

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Anti-trust regulators at the European Commission filed formal charges against Google on April 14, 2015. The regulators said "Google systematically positions and prominently displays its comparison shopping service in its general search results pages, irrespective of its merits."

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Two FTC Commissioners comment on the Google anti-trust investigation. Both Commissioners consulted for Google.

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Margrethe Vestager, Danish regulator returns as head of the anti-trust division of the European Commission for a second five year term, just as tech companies are increasingly seen as having unfair business practices that do not benefit society as a whole. One change she hopes to make this time is to use "interim measures" a cease and desist order for companies to stop improper behaviour immediately, rather than go on with investigations for years. These investigations end up with fines but not the structural changes to enforce competition that are immediately needed.

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Anti-trust challenges to the Apple-Google duopoly in the U.S. and Europe. For years the regulatory process did not work as intended to maintain competition and open markets. In 2020 after years of neglect of proper regulatory functioning, fines of up to 10% of revenues are put in legislation for online harm or anti-competitive behaviour. Regulators oce seen as captive to special interests, moved cautiously in the beginning, and are now following public opinion. The bill in Europe could take years before it is passed in the cumbersome lengthy legislative processes of the European Union. Legal processes could take years. During and after the pandemic a complete reassessment of priorities as a society both in the U.S., Europe and other nations needs to happen before capital investment can be directed into infrastructure, health and education, as tech has reached a point of diminishing returns. With a redirection of capital to vital needs of society and the national will to maintain open competitive markets that goes with a change in popular perceptions of what is good and important much progress can be made. ...

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AT&T will have to pay $3 billion in cash to Deutsche Telekom for a failure to complete the merger with T-Mobile. Anti-trust objections killed the deal. Deutsche Telekom is the owner of T-Mobile.

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Intel and the Federal Trade Commission plan to settle an anti-trust case. This will require Intel to change monopolistic practices in the microprocessor market. One of the ways Intel has tried to fend off competitors like AMD is by offering rebates to HP, Dell, and Acer. In a private settlement Intel paid $1.25 billion to AMD in November 2009. It paid a $1.45 billion fine to the EU after a ruling against Intel for such practices.

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Following the defeat of chancellor Merkel's CDU party in the 2016 Berlin state election, getting just 17.6% of the vote, chancellor Merkel looked reflective and a bit emotional about the result. She urged Germans to understand that this decision on refugees will benefit Germany in the long run. She said she would work to regain the people's trust. Looking back she said-"If I could, I would turn back time by many, many years to better prepare myself and the whole German government for the situation that reached us unprepared in late summer 2015." She says the decision was "absolutely right" to admit the refugees from war torn Syria, but accepted that "it led to a time when we did not have enough control over the situation." Both the CDU and the SPD, the main parties, lost about 6-7 percentage points each in votes cast. Gainers were the Free Democratic Party with 6.7% of the vote, who gained votes from the CDU. For the SPD votes were lost to the Greens and the left party Die Linke each party winning over 15% of votes.  Both the CDU and the SPD had candidates who did not attract voter interest. A popular former Mayor of Berlin from the SPD did not run in this election. The anti-immigrant AfD party gained  about 14% of votes.  ...

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Margarethe Vestager brings a candour and forthrightness rare in European politics. As economy minister and deputy prime minister she led the Social Liberal Party in the coalition government in Denmark. The Social Liberal Party is unique in that it is part of left leaning alliance with Social Democrats, yet emphasizes as part of its platform education that encourages the creative development of pupils, and freedom in methods of teaching to encourage creativity. Vestager has increased the scope of the EU investigation to look at the Android system in mobile, and filed formal anti-trust charges against Google. Vestager says about Google, that "the amount of data it controls gives rise to societal challenges." She graduated in Economics from the University of Copenhagen. Her husand is a math teacher. One of her hobbies is knitting elephants, and one of them will be offered for bidding at the Danish Seamen's Church in Brooklyn, where she is speaking on April 19. She brings a fresh breath of air to the functioning of the European Commission in Brussels, often viewed as bureaucratic and slow. ...

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Experts say lengthy antitrust investigations in which companies are required to follow the rules set by regulators leads to legal experts being consulted at each step in the product development process. The effect is stifling on the corporate culture and creates an effect on employees over time. Microsoft product development slowed down in the period following the EU investigation. This could happen at Google as it faces EU charges in 2015, say experts.

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The US Federal Trade Commission is changing its focus after two decades of letting monopolies grow in many industries. It is now headed by Lina Khan, a 32 year of student of anti-trust and its role in US history to preserve the negotiating power of individuals and groups with large corporations. For decades since the breakup of large companies including oil and energy by Theodore Roosevelt at the start of the 20th century, anti-trust has followed a clear road that said large companies could not monopolize business in industries. This only changed with Reagan in the 1970's leading to the situation today where large corporations are seen as insensitive to what the public wants and what is good for the country. Apple can do most of its manufacturing overseas when communities in America have lost factory jobs for 20 years. IT companies can pay little in taxes by offshoring manufacturing and headquarters to places outside the US. The models simply don't work because they are outdated from a different time. Not just pricing but negotiating power has to be considered. Taxes to fund infrastructure are part of the overall goal that society needs to pursue. In this situation anti-trust is to be redefined in a much broader context. Does it regulate the structures of business in a way that does not affect the national interest to be competitive in technology, independent in supply channels, to keep manufacturing jobs, build infrastructure, improve public services. Antitrust, taxation, administration, all have to work together to achieve an overall goal of improving the living conditions of the people. ...

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In Bagour, Egypt, in the crowded Nile delta, the old order was represented by Kamal-al-Shazli, a member of Parliament from the ruling party for 46 years. This means he entered Parliament in 1964, eight years after the Suez Crisis of 1956, when Egypt under a young military officer Gamal Abdel Nasser confronted the British and the French over the Suez Canal. Everything here in this town was done through Mr Shazli, the ultimate system of paronage was in place, and everything was named after him. Only the slogans of the anti-colonialism days, the days of hope of improving the living conditions of the people, remain. Everything else has stayed much the same for the vast majority of people. Now the task of changing things requires people to think for themselves and learn to work together to guide their own affairs under a democratic system of government and free expression. And this is quite different from the system in place for over 50 years, just as happened in the old Soviet Union. The old system was held together through a patronage system, bribes, enforced by the ruling party and its state security, and one in which individuals had to trust in the state to do their thinking for them about running the country....