Now, Google has reportedly offered to restrict the use of Fitbit data for Google ads and tighten the monitoring of that process, Reuters says. The company also formalized its commitment to supporting other wearable manufacturers on Android and allowing Fitbit users to choose third party services through APIs, Google said in a statement. Those third parties will have access to Fitbit users’ data, as long as those users consent.

Those are relatively minor concessions, but this isn’t quite a done deal. EU officials will now collect feedback from competitors and consumers before accepting Google’s concessions. There’s a chance that Google will have to meet additional demands. Either way, the Commission will decide on the deal by December 23rd.

Meanwhile, in the US, Google will have to appease both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ). The company is also facing a broader review of competition. The DOJ is preparing an antitrust case against the company, and a dozen states are expected to join that DOJ lawsuit.

Messenger probably isn’t the greatest option for your main messaging app, but being able to reset the default could let you choose apps that offer a better experience than Messenger or Apple’s Messages.

Android’s mobile OS already lets users choose their preferred messaging app. Sadly, Apple is probably not going to give users that choice. Apple’s Messages app is still one reason that people buy Apple hardware, and Apple uses the encrypted messages to brag about its privacy practices. 

But not allowing users to choose their default messaging app could add to the argument that Apple practices “monopolist behaviors.” The company is facing increased criticism over its App Store fees, and it is the target of multiple antitrust investigations. Today, Epic Games, Spotify and others announced the Coalition for App Fairness, an alliance to pressure both Apple and Google to change their app store rules and other restrictive policies. 

The FTC is preparing for a possible antitrust lawsuit against Facebook before the year ends, according to The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. If you’ll recall, the agency started looking into the social network’s purchase of smaller companies like Instagram and WhatsApp last year, shortly after it slapped Facebook with a $5 billion fine over its privacy practices related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. While the FTC approved those acquisitions, it has the authority to revisit past transactions — in this case, its efforts were part of its investigation on the anticompetitive practices of the tech industry as a whole.

Back in July, lawmakers grilled Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg on the company’s $1 billion Instagram acquisition during an antitrust hearing also attended by Google’s and Amazon’s CEOs. Several emails from the social network’s top execs were brought up, including one where they talked about having to “neutralize a potential competitor.” Zuckerberg also reportedly wrote in an email that Facebook “can likely always just buy any competitive startups,” though he said he didn’t remember writing the note.

Different states reportedly have different reasons for signing on, and participating wouldn’t necessarily prevent them from pursuing other investigations. Democrat-led states may file their own lawsuit in the “coming months” over aspects the DOJ doesn’t cover, according to the sources.

We’ve asked Google for comment.

If these states (and potentially others) join the lawsuit, it could represent one of the largest antitrust actions since the case against Microsoft in 1998. That case ultimately involved 18 states and DC, and led to significant changes to Microsoft’s business. There’s no certainty Google will face a similar outcome, but the involvement of a dozen states suggests there’s a lot of pressure to limit the internet giant’s influence even without throwing Congress into the mix.

While Amazon has spoken out repeatedly against price gouging, much of its focus has been on third-party sellers. Amazon says it has removed more than one million listings and suspended more than 10,000 accounts for suspected price gouging. But the report released this week provides several examples of products labeled “sold by Amazon” that saw drastic price increases.

In a statement provided to Engadget, an Amazon spokesperson said:

As we have said, there is no place for price gouging on Amazon and that includes products offered directly by Amazon. Our systems are designed to meet or beat the best available price amongst our competitors and if we see an error, we work quickly to fix it. Our teams continue to monitor our store 24/7 and have already removed over a million offers. Our customers expect to find low prices in our store, and we work hard to provide the best available price across the hundreds of millions of products in our store for all customers, every day.  

In March, Amazon and the Department of Justice asked consumers to report instances of price gouging, but by May some sellers found a way to use the “collectible” label to dodge price gouging rules. Last month, Germany opened an investigation into whether Amazon influenced prices during the pandemic. 

As Public Citizen points out, there are no federal price gouging laws in the US, but the DoJ previously said any companies that fix prices or rig bids for PPE such as gloves or masks could be prosecuted under antitrust laws. As you may know, Amazon is already facing pressure over potential antitrust abuses.

If you somehow missed how all of this started, on August 13th Epic’s Fortnite Mega Drop on iOS and Android included an option for players to pay for the game’s in-game currency directly. Epic offered a discount to those who took advantage of this option. Both Apple and Google removed Fortnite from their respective app stores later that same day. Epic responded by launching separate lawsuits against the two companies, accusing them of anti-competitive practices.

On August 28th, Apple went on to terminate Epic’s App Store developer account, delisting the company’s other games in the process. For a moment, it seemed like the company would also cut off the account Epic uses to maintain the Unreal Engine, but the judge overseeing the case ruled Apple could not do that.

Apple is now effectively taking things a step further by asking the court to hold Epic liable for its actions. It’s asking that the studio repay all the money it collected when it gave Fortnite players the option to bypass the App Store’s payment mechanisms. It’s also asking for a permanent injunction against Epic’s external payment system.

A hearing between the two companies is currently scheduled for later this month.

Italy’s competition watchdog is investing Apple, Google and Dropbox, TechCrunch reports. In a press release, the AGCM announced that it opened six investigations into the companies’ cloud storage services: Google Drive, iCloud and Dropbox.

The authority is concerned that the services fail to adequately explain how user data will be collected and used for commercial purposes. It’s also investigating unfair clauses in the services’ contracts, terms that exempt the services from some liability and the prevalence of English versions of contracts over Italian versions.

Termination of Epic’s developer account also removed its other games from the App Store, including some Apple had previously used to show off its development platforms. The judge already ruled that Apple can’t kick Unreal Engine as a whole off of its platform, for now, and now Epic is pushing to get back the access it’s lost while its antitrust case against Apple continues.

In a statement, Epic Games said “Today we ask the Court to stop Apple from retaliating against Epic for daring to challenge Apple’s misconduct while our antitrust case proceeds. Apple is a monopolist and standing up to them is a necessary step to free consumers and developers from the unlawful restrictions Apple has imposed over app distribution and in-app payment processing on iOS. For too long, developers have not spoken out because they fear Apple’s retaliation. The company’s recent actions show that if you challenge Apple’s monopoly, Apple will attempt to destroy your business. We are committed to speaking up and securing lower cost, competitive access for all.”

You can read through an FAQ here and the 182 page filing here (PDF), which includes CEO Tim Sweeney’s emails to Apple, as well as responses from the Apple legal department claiming its stance protects the consumer.

According to Sweeney in a subsequent email, “If Apple someday chooses to return to its roots building open platforms in which consumers have freedom to install software from sources of their choosing, and developers can reach consumers and do business directly without intermediation, then Epic will once again be an ardent supporter of Apple. Until then, Epic is in a state of substantial disagreement with Apple’s policy and practices, and we will continue to pursue this, as we have done in the past to address other injustices in our industry.”

There are many groups watching from the sidelines, including indie developers who rely on Epic’s development tools, services seeking to launch cloud gaming apps that work on iOS and other developers who also want some flexibility in dealing with the 30 percent cut app stores take from their revenue. Right now the only thing that seems certain is that this isn’t going away anytime soon — a sad state of affairs for the gamers mentioned last in the PDF who posted comments begging to be able to play Fortnite on iOS again.

A report by the New York Times suggests that the Justice Department is close to presenting its antitrust case against Alphabet, the parent company of Google. The report also mentions that there’s disagreement among the team, as attorney general William Barr is described as wanting to announce the case in September to make it an an example of action taken by the Trump administration.

That push seems like an “arbitrary” decision that overrides the advice of career lawyers who think rushing things will strengthen Google’s case. Google, through a spokesman, is quoted saying it will continue to “engage” with the investigations, which have focused on its dominance in online search and advertising, and reportedly uncovered “powerful” evidence of anticompetitive behavior. A report in the Washington Post backed up the NYT findings, and mentioned that some state AGs are targeting Android as well.

The goal, at least partially, is to keep regulators happy. Data portability is required by the EU’s GDPR privacy rules and the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA). Increased data portability could also address some larger antitrust concerns. As Reuters notes, a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hearing on September 22nd will examine the potential benefits and challenges of data portability.

Facebook says it will require users to re-enter their passwords before transferring files, and the data will be encrypted during the transfer. But the company also says that it needs clearer rules about what kinds of data should be portable and who is responsible for protecting it. That, the company says, is up to policy makers.

To transfer photos and videos from Facebook to Google Photos, Dropbox or Koofr, select “Your Facebook Information” in settings. Select “Transfer a Copy of Your Photos or Videos,” enter your password, choose a destination and confirm.