Archive | Tag: going to court

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The Department of Justice has opened an inquiry into the settlement,
according to three people who have spoken with investigators. Such
inquiries don’t necessarily turn into formal investigations, though
some advocates are pressing the government to get involved. "We’d like to have them intervene and delay the settlement until the
antitrust issues get fixed," said John M. Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, a
nonprofit group that contacted the Justice Department about the
settlement a month ago.

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Google has defended its online book deal amid reports it is being reviewed by the US justice department.

Consumer Watchdog told the BBC it was one of a
number of groups involved in calling on the Department of Justice to
act "We felt the deal set up an unfair monopolistic situation for Google,"
explained Consumer Watchdog advocate John M. Simpson. "We do need to have the world’s books digitized but I think there are
very big concerns if one internet giant is able to dominate the digital
market. We want a level playing field here," Mr. Simpson said.

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U.S. antitrust enforcers are asking questions about Google’s settlement
with publishers over its book-scanning project, representatives for
Consumer Watchdog and the American Antitrust Institute said. Consumer Watchdog, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based consumer group, spent
about an hour on the phone with Justice Department lawyers this month
to discuss their concerns, John Simpson, a consumer advocate at the
group, said in an interview.

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The Justice Department has begun an inquiry into
the antitrust implications of Google’s settlement with authors and
publishers over its Google Book Search service, two people briefed on
the matter said Tuesday. Lawyers for the Justice Department have been in conversations in recent
weeks with various groups opposed to the settlement, including the
Internet Archive and Consumer Watchdog.

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A federal judge has granted authors worldwide four more months to
decide whether to participate in a settlement involving Google’s online
Book Search service. "The four-month extension is a big victory for those who oppose the
Google Books settlement," said John Simpson, a consumer advocate with
Consumer Watchdog. "It’s a clear recognition by the judge that there
are problems with the proposed deal. The extension also gives the
Justice Department more time to consider the antitrust issues that we
and others have raised and discussed with them."

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With opponents to the ambitious Google Book Search settlement continuing to emerge, Google as well as authors and publishers have asked for a two-month delay in the search case. Earlier this month, advocacy group Consumer Watchdog also criticized
the settlement on the grounds that it would give Google "an effective
monopoly over digitized books" and asked the Department of Justice to
intervene.

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