Euro watchdogs 'abandon $1b fine' against Qualcomm

The European Commission has reportedly called it quits in its bid to fine Qualcomm for alleged anti-competitive payments to Apple. Reuters reports antitrust regulators have signaled they will not appeal a June court ruling nixing a nearly $1 billion fine against the US system-on-chip designer, which was accused of breaking …

[DS999]

The EU is toothless

They threaten more, and bring more cases, but it is pretty rare they actually succeed in making any tech companies pay any real money for misdeeds.

Their best accomplishment so far seems to be forcing Microsoft to introduce a version of Windows without IE, which no one wanted! It looks like they may force Apple to introduce an iPhone with USB-C, though they might choose to go portless. The privacy stuff only succeeded in making the web a worse place with cookie dialogs everywhere you go.

Maybe the fine against Google will stick, we'll see.

[rcxb]

Re: The EU is toothless

The privacy stuff only succeeded in making the web a worse place with cookie dialogs everywhere you go.

Correction: It makes websites of privacy-invading companies a worse place to go. I suggest you try going elsewhere. Plenty of websites do not have or need cookie dialogs, because they simply don't collect that data on anyone in the first place. What kind of cookie dialogs do you see here one el reg?

[LybsterRoy]

Re: The EU is toothless

Quite correct - or possibly not. I rarely see cookie dialogs because I installed "I Don't Care About Cookies" and any I acquire get zapped when I close the browser - which I do after I've finished the session not just at the end of the day or never.

[Dave314159ggggdffsdds]

Re: The EU is toothless

It's not that they're toothless, but that they keep engaging in publicity stunts with zero prospect of success. The case against Google is equally ludicrous, legally speaking.

[Phil O'Sophical]

EU regulators now face paying Intel $623.5 million (€593 million) in damages.

Somehow I doubt if the regulators will personally be paying a centime of that. The EU taxpayers will be picking up the tab.

[Snowy]

Do what any other big corporation would do and do not pay, let them try and collect it.

[prh99]

How to quickly undermine your own authority in one easy step. It would almost certainly be thrown right back in their face next time they seek payment of a fine. There is also the interest accumulation and if ordered to pay, the inevitable contempt finding.

[Trollslayer]

It is time Qualcomm feels the bite of a massive fine.

Remember, Qualcomm put smaller phone chip companies collapse because they can't afford the royalties on Qualcomm's patents.