Tokyo court fines Google for not censoring defamatory instant search results

Remember the sad tale of the Japanese man that Google's Instant Search forced out of a job? Entering his name into the search bar, and Google's auto-complete algorithm tacked on accusations of nefarious acts that he was allegedly responsible for -- causing his employers to hand him his pink slip. Afterward, John Doe-san took Google to court, but Mountain View refused to intervene. That's why the Tokyo District Court has fined Google 300,000 yen ($3,068) for the mental distress, which will be paid to the unnamed individual in question.

Via: The Verge

Source: Economic Times / AP

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By: Unknown On 10:01 PM

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Samsung, Philips, LG and others reportedly set to face EU regulatory fines for CRT price fixing

By Mark Hearn posted Nov 9th 2012 2:58PM

Samsung SDI, Philips, LG, Technicolor, Panasonic and Toshiba are said to be facing heavy fines from the European Commission due to alleged involvement in a TV cathode-ray tube price fixing ring. According to Reuters, the fines will be announced on November 28th and can reach up to ten percent of the turnover during the period which the cartel was said to have ran. Based on 2011 revenues, LG could be fined up to $5 billion, while Dutch-based Philips would top out at around $2.9 billion. While the fines aren't expected to reach such heights, it will definitely take more than a few Black Friday blowout sales to recover this type of coin.

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By: Dilusha On 6:54 PM

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Philips, LG Electronics, others face EU cartel fines

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS | Fri Nov 9, 2012 12:37pm EST

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Six top electronics firms including Philips and LG Electronics face hefty European Union fines at the end of the month for fixing prices of TV cathode-ray tubes, four people with knowledge of the matter said.

The sources said on Friday other companies involved in the cartel were South Korea's Samsung SDI, French group Thomson, which was renamed Technicolor in 2010, and Japanese companies Matsushita, now known as Panasonic Corp, and Toshiba Corp.

The European Commission, which raided the companies in late 2007, will announce the fines on November 28, according to a Commission document seen by Reuters and confirmed by sources.

Sanctions are expected to be substantial because the cartel lasted more than a decade from the late 1990s, one of the sources said. The EU executive can penalize companies up to 10 percent of their turnover for breaching EU rules.

In the case of Dutch group Philips that could reach 2.26 billion euros ($2.9 billion), while for South Korea's LG Electronics it could be 5.4 trillion won ($5.0 billion), based on their 2011 revenues. However, sanctions are not expected to hit those levels.

The sources said Taiwanese company Chunghwa Picture Tubes alerted the EU antitrust regulators to the existence of the cartel, so will not be fined.

LG Philips Display, a joint venture between Philips and LG Electronics, and MT Picture Display, a joint venture between Matsushita and Toshiba, will also be penalized, the sources said.

The European Commission did not respond to a phone call or email seeking comment.

Cathode ray tubes, which were also used in computer monitors, have largely been replaced by modern display technologies such as LCD, plasma display and organic light-emitting diode.

The EU authority slapped a total fine of 648 million euros on six LCD companies which included Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Samsung Electronics and LG Display two years ago for taking part in a cartel.

Last year, it penalized four producers of cathode ray tubes glass 128.74 million euros for fixing prices.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Rex Merrifield and Mark Potter)

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By: Dilusha On 5:23 PM

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Philips, LG Electronics, others face EU cartel fines

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS | Fri Nov 9, 2012 12:37pm EST

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Six top electronics firms including Philips and LG Electronics face hefty European Union fines at the end of the month for fixing prices of TV cathode-ray tubes, four people with knowledge of the matter said.

The sources said on Friday other companies involved in the cartel were South Korea's Samsung SDI, French group Thomson, which was renamed Technicolor in 2010, and Japanese companies Matsushita, now known as Panasonic Corp, and Toshiba Corp.

The European Commission, which raided the companies in late 2007, will announce the fines on November 28, according to a Commission document seen by Reuters and confirmed by sources.

Sanctions are expected to be substantial because the cartel lasted more than a decade from the late 1990s, one of the sources said. The EU executive can penalize companies up to 10 percent of their turnover for breaching EU rules.

In the case of Dutch group Philips that could reach 2.26 billion euros ($2.9 billion), while for South Korea's LG Electronics it could be 5.4 trillion won ($5.0 billion), based on their 2011 revenues. However, sanctions are not expected to hit those levels.

The sources said Taiwanese company Chunghwa Picture Tubes alerted the EU antitrust regulators to the existence of the cartel, so will not be fined.

LG Philips Display, a joint venture between Philips and LG Electronics, and MT Picture Display, a joint venture between Matsushita and Toshiba, will also be penalized, the sources said.

The European Commission did not respond to a phone call or email seeking comment.

Cathode ray tubes, which were also used in computer monitors, have largely been replaced by modern display technologies such as LCD, plasma display and organic light-emitting diode.

The EU authority slapped a total fine of 648 million euros on six LCD companies which included Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Samsung Electronics and LG Display two years ago for taking part in a cartel.

Last year, it penalized four producers of cathode ray tubes glass 128.74 million euros for fixing prices.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Rex Merrifield and Mark Potter)

View the original article here

By: Dilusha On 4:42 PM

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