Posted on 05/17/2009 9:39:44 PM PDT by reaganaut1
Silicon Valley companies are bracing for a tough new phase of antitrust scrutiny, responding to signs of heavier enforcement by the Obama administration and continued pressure from abroad.
A stricter stance against companies that dominate their sectors is likely to test government-relations strategies that technology giants adopted during the Bush administration.
Google Inc., one of the most prominent companies under the watch of antitrust regulators, says its lobbyists and executives since March have met with about 40 groups, including lawmakers, regulators and advertising agencies, to argue that its business practices don't reduce competition. A Google spokesman said the effort is a response to Google's "size and success" not to the new administration.
Intel Corp., which was hit last week by a $1.45 billion fine by European Union antitrust authorities, has been running ads in Washington and Brussels since last year that stress its positive impact on innovation and job creation. In October, the giant chip maker for the first time recruited a government official: Peter Cleveland, who served as chief of staff to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) and will head Intel's Washington office. [google lobbying and antitrust]
Antitrust lawyers in private practice expect to get more business. "During the Bush administration nobody was interested in hearing about that," said Gary Reback, a Silicon Valley attorney who has been involved in high-profile, high-technology antitrust cases and recently wrote a book on the subject. "As we go forward, we'll hear a lot more about it."
Many tech companies were already following lessons from the treatment of Microsoft Corp., which was accused of monopolistic tactics by the Clinton administration. The software giant fought government oversight but suffered harsh publicity and some major defeats in court.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Microsoft was a one-of-a-kind case. There’s nothing to compare to it. This new Rat push is tilting, not even at windmills, but at pictures of windmills.
Hey Google,
It must really suck to get bitten by the hand that you fed.
Well it could be a scheme to squeeze more juice out of these firms. Enough campaign money and all will be forgiven. It’s the Chicago way!
But this can’t be. Obama was the most tech-friendly president ever.
I wonder how often Google is going to now prominently display The First Thug's image on their default page.
You techie boys think you know something about the real world. But the true reality is that despite your brain smarts, you got taken in by a know-nothing-dweeb with a teleprompter for a crutch.
Maybe next time, IF there's ever a next time, you'll vote for an adult that won't pander to your little 'Star Trek / one-world Federation' fantasies.
I think you’re probably right. Just more grifting.
...guess Silicon Valley shouldn’t have voted for Obama and company.
I’ll try to act surprised when they win Silicon Valley again next election cycle....
Antitrust laws are just a cover for the government to collect revenues without calling them taxes, and for inefficient and/or obsolete companies to use the power of the state to squelch their efficient, more profitable competitors. It’s been this way for as long as there have been antitrust laws. The only monopolies that last in a free market economy are either ones supported by the government (either directly through subsidies and the like, or indirectly through regulations that inhibit new competitors from arising), or monopolies that happen to supply just what every customer wants at a price they want to pay.
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