Antitrust – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Antitrust

How big is too big? And when does a company become so big that the government is forced to step in and make it smaller? Politicians have been struggling with those questions for at least a hundred years. But as the latest generation of tech companies has taken shape, the questions are becoming more and more relevant to internet giants like Google and Facebook. There’s a new movement in Washington to break up those companies, whether through a Justice Department lawsuit or an old-school appeal to the Sherman Antitrust Act. It’s a struggle Microsoft fended off in the ‘90s, and it has only grown more urgent in the years since. As Amazon has taken a stranglehold of online retail, Jeff Bezos’ company has started to attract antitrust attention as well, with figures like Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Lina Khan taking aim at Amazon’s cutthroat competitive strategies. If it succeeds, it would be one of the most ambitious government projects in a generation — but success is still a long way off.

Here’s how Amazon’s price fixing allegedly drove up prices everywhereHere’s how Amazon’s price fixing allegedly drove up prices everywhere
Lauren Feiner
Lauren Feiner
Live Nation agrees to pay $9.9 million to settle deceptive ticket pricing allegations.

Fresh off the loss of its antitrust trial, the company settled with the DC attorney general over claims it “hid the true price of tickets” before checkout. The AG says Ticketmaster has since changed the practice. The settlement is similar to one between StubHub and the Federal Trade Commission.

Attorney General Schwalb Announces Live Nation Will Pay $9.9 Million for Deceptive Ticket Pricing Practices

[Office of the DC Attorney General]

Live Nation says it will fight monopoly suit lossLive Nation says it will fight monopoly suit loss
Ticketmaster is an illegal monopoly, jury findsTicketmaster is an illegal monopoly, jury finds
Lauren Feiner
Lauren Feiner
Top antitrust litigators against Google and Live Nation leave the Justice Department.

Attorneys who led trial teams against Live Nation, Google, and Apple are among the recent departures, following the DOJ’s Live Nation settlement, Bloomberg and Mlex report. David Dahlquist, who led the DOJ teams against Live Nation and for Google search remedies, announced he’d given notice at a Google hearing Wednesday.

DOJ Top Antitrust Litigators Exit After Ticketmaster Accord

[Bloomberg]

A jury is about to decide the fate of TicketmasterA jury is about to decide the fate of Ticketmaster
The Trump administration’s antitrust honeymoon is overThe Trump administration’s antitrust honeymoon is over
Everyone hates Ticketmaster. Why’d Trump go easy on them?
Play

The Justice Department’s surprise Live Nation settlement raises big questions about the future of federal antitrust.

Nilay Patel
Lina Khan was right

Khan’s FTC tried to expand the scope of antitrust law. Meta’s floundering VR ambitions shows why that mattered.

Victoria Song
The Live Nation trial restarts with a ‘velvet hammer’The Live Nation trial restarts with a ‘velvet hammer’
States’ anti-monopoly case against Live Nation continues MondayStates’ anti-monopoly case against Live Nation continues Monday
The Live Nation settlement has industry insiders baffledThe Live Nation settlement has industry insiders baffled
Lauren Feiner
Lauren Feiner
Live Nation and state plaintiffs will give an update on their settlement talks Friday.

The judge just scheduled a 3 PM hearing ordering “principal decisionmakers” for the states and Live Nation to attend. I expect we’ll hear about the status of their settlement talks, and whether at least some portion of the 27 states plus DC pushing ahead will go back to trial Monday.

States’ trial against Live Nation could move forward as soon as next week

Lauren Feiner
Listen to the Live Nation CEO’s alleged threats to a concert venueListen to the Live Nation CEO’s alleged threats to a concert venue
States’ trial against Live Nation could move forward as soon as next weekStates’ trial against Live Nation could move forward as soon as next week
Live Nation settles government antitrust suit — and dodges a breakupLive Nation settles government antitrust suit — and dodges a breakup
How Live Nation allegedly terrorized the concert industryHow Live Nation allegedly terrorized the concert industry
This phone starts fires on purposeThis phone starts fires on purpose
Did Live Nation punish a venue by taking Billie Eilish away?Did Live Nation punish a venue by taking Billie Eilish away?
Sean Hollister
Sean Hollister
Take another peek at our big Google Android app store story if it’s been a while since you checked.

I’ve been updating it for hours with bits from court documents, blog posts, email fact-checks, even a quick interview with Google Android boss Sameer Samat and Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney. I’m about done, but I still need to parse the new Games Level Up Program and Apps Experience Program...

Google isn’t waiting for a settlement — the 30 percent Android app store fee is dead

Sean Hollister
Sean Hollister
Sean Hollister
Epic and Google have withdrawn their proposed settlement and may have a new one momentarily. Stand by for news.

“The parties expect to submit a revised proposal to the Court by March 4, 2026.” That’s today.

Judge Donato seemed extremely skeptical of the previous proposed settlement during the live courtroom proceedings, particularly because Epic and Google had quietly worked out a new $800 million business deal behind the scenes. We’re standing by for the “revised proposal” now.

Image: US District Court
Does Ticketmaster have a stranglehold on concert ticketing — or is it just ‘bringing joy’?Does Ticketmaster have a stranglehold on concert ticketing — or is it just ‘bringing joy’?
Lauren Feiner
Lauren Feiner
U.S. government and Live Nation begin their battle over the concert industry.

I’m at the courthouse in downtown Manhattan, where the DOJ and 40 state and district attorneys general are accusing the entertainment titan of maintaining an illegal monopoly that drives up ticket prices.

Image: Lauren Feiner / The Verge
Will Trump’s DOJ actually take on Ticketmaster?Will Trump’s DOJ actually take on Ticketmaster?
Top DOJ antitrust enforcer is out weeks before Live Nation trialTop DOJ antitrust enforcer is out weeks before Live Nation trial
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
EU tells Meta to let other AIs back on WhatsApp.

The European Commission has weighed in on the November decision to block the likes of ChatGPT and Copilot from WhatsApp, and thinks it violates EU antitrust laws. It’s surprisingly fast for the organization, which called the issue “urgent” because of the risk of “irreparable” damage to competition in the nascent AI industry.

European Commission illustration of its measures to make Meta include 3rd party chatbots on WhatsApp
Image: European Commission
Why is the Trump administration really appealing its Meta loss?Why is the Trump administration really appealing its Meta loss?
Epic and Google have a secret $800 million Unreal Engine and services dealEpic and Google have a secret $800 million Unreal Engine and services deal
FTC says it will appeal Meta antitrust lossFTC says it will appeal Meta antitrust loss
Google is appealing a judge’s search monopoly rulingGoogle is appealing a judge’s search monopoly ruling
The Atlantic, Penske, and Vox Media have all sued Google for antitrust violationsThe Atlantic, Penske, and Vox Media have all sued Google for antitrust violations
Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai are cowards

X’s deepfake porn feature clearly violates app store guidelines. Why won’t Apple and Google pull it?

Elizabeth Lopatto
Lauren Feiner
Lauren Feiner
Another landlord agrees to steer clear of algorithmic rent price recommendations.

The Justice Department reached a proposed agreement with landlord LivCor to resolve claims that it illegally coordinated rent prices with other landlords using algorithmic recommendations from RealPage. The DOJ previously settled with RealPage, and two large landlords involved in the case.

Justice Department Reaches Proposed Consent Decree with LivCor, One of America’s Largest Landlords, to Resolve Information Sharing and Algorithmic Coordination Claims

[Justice Department]

Tim Cook’s lobbying hangs over a key kids online safety voteTim Cook’s lobbying hangs over a key kids online safety vote
Fortnite is back in Google’s Android app storeFortnite is back in Google’s Android app store
Google Zero is under investigation by the EUGoogle Zero is under investigation by the EU
DOJ settles with RealPage over its software’s alleged rent price fixingDOJ settles with RealPage over its software’s alleged rent price fixing
Judge wants to fix Google’s ad tech monopoly before it’s too lateJudge wants to fix Google’s ad tech monopoly before it’s too late
Meta is not a monopolist, judge rulesMeta is not a monopolist, judge rules
Lauren Feiner
Senate Democrats want to know: was YouTube’s Trump settlement a bribe?Senate Democrats want to know: was YouTube’s Trump settlement a bribe?

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