#FTC

#FTC

Nvidia's $5 billion Intel stock purchase is already worth $7.58 billion, turning the recently approved bailout of its rival into a shrewd financial play. Nvidia had locked in a purchase price of $23.28 per share for Intel when Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan struck a deal in September. The deal had been under scrutiny by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which was examining whether Nvidia's potential 4 percent ownership stake could run afoul of antitrust laws.

The EC also said it preliminarily found that both Meta and TikTok violated their DSA obligation to grant researchers adequate access to public data. "The Commission's preliminary findings show that Facebook, Instagram and TikTok may have put in place burdensome procedures and tools for researchers to request access to public data. This often leaves them with partial or unreliable data, impacting their ability to conduct research, such as whether users, including minors, are exposed to illegal or harmful content," the announcement said.

"My understanding from recent reporting is that Gmail's spam filters routinely block messages from reaching consumers when those messages come from Republican senders but fail to block similar messages sent by Democrats," Ferguson wrote. He warned Alphabet that if Gmail's filters "keep Americans from receiving speech they expect, or donating as they see fit, the filters may harm American consumers and may violate the FTC Act's prohibition of unfair or deceptive trade practices," adding this could lead to "an FTC investigation and potential enforcement action."

Between November 1, 2022, and December 30, 2023, a group of three individuals allegedly used a network of websites to purchase over 379,776 tickets from Ticketmaster, spending $57 million. They resold those tickets for nearly $64 million.

"Some people 60+ have reported emptying their bank accounts and even clearing out their 401ks," the FTC's Division of Consumer Response and Operations wrote. "While younger people report losing money to these imposters too, reports of losses in the tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars are much more likely to be filed by older adults, and those numbers have soared."

According to the Central District of California U.S. Attorney's Office, a California man was indicted on 13 counts of wire fraud for scamming dating app users out of $2 million.

"Reported losses to job scams increased more than threefold from 2020 to 2023. In the first half of 2024, they topped $220 million, according to the FTC."

The Federal Trade Commission, under Trump-appointed chair Andrew Ferguson, cleared a merger between Omnicom Group and Interpublic Group, creating the world's largest advertising company, controlling over half of the industry.

Epic Games is facing a $245 million settlement due to accusations of using 'dark patterns' to trick players into unwanted purchases, impacting children without parental consent.

Eligible Fortnite players who felt deceived by unwanted purchases are given a chance to apply for refunds from Epic Games' $245 million FTC settlement until July 9.

The CMA's proposed designation of Google with 'strategic market status' underlines a push for enhanced competition and consumer benefit in the digital economy.