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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon today in Western Washington district court, with 17 states joining the federal agency. The case isn’t surprising (the FTC was reportedly nearly ready to file in late August), but its specifics weren’t yet known.

The FTC accuses the online retailer of monopolistic practices, including preventing merchants from offering lower prices on other platforms and forcing them to use Amazon’s logistics service if they wanted to be included in customers’ Prime shipping perks. Those anticompetitive practices allegedly led to higher prices and an inferior shopping experience.

The suit describes “Amazon’s one-two punch of seller punishments and high seller fees” that forces vendors to “use their inflated Amazon prices as a price floor everywhere else.” The complaint reads, “Amazon’s punitive regime distorts basic market signals: one of the ways sellers respond to Amazon’s fee hikes is by increasing their own prices off Amazon.”

“Today’s lawsuit seeks to hold Amazon to account for these monopolistic practices and restore the lost promise of free and fair competition,” said FTC chair Lina Khan, according toThe New York Times.

The states joining the FTC include New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.

“Amazon is a monopolist,” the lawsuit reads. “It exploits its monopolies in ways that enrich Amazon but harm its customers: both the tens of millions of American households who regularly shop on Amazon’s online superstore and the hundreds of thousands of businesses who rely on Amazon to reach them.”

The FTC has had its eye on Amazon for several years. This is the fourth action the agency has taken against the company this year. Amazon settled a previous lawsuit (for $30.8 million) filed in May over Alexa children’s privacy concerns and snooping with Ring cameras. In June, the FTC sued the retailer again, claiming the company tricked customers into signing up for Prime subscriptions and then made it hard to cancel them.

Amazon claimed that the FTC’s actions were out of line. “Today’s suit makes clear the FTC’s focus has radically departed from its mission of protecting consumers and competition,” said David Zapolsky, Amazon’s Senior Vice President of Global Public Policy and General Counsel. “The lawsuit filed by the FTC today is wrong on the facts and the law, and we look forward to making that case in court.”

The media’s narrative about the suit will likely frame it as a long-awaited title bout between Khan and Amazon. The FTC chair gained prominence by publishing a 2017 Yale Law Journalpaper arguing US antitrust laws fell short of adequately reining in the tech giant. That helped begin a national conversation about whether the nation’s anti-monopoly laws were prepared to handle modern Silicon Valley behemoths. But more important than one-on-one championship fight framing, the showdown will serve as a test for Washington regulators and Amazon, as the latter faces its most consequential government fight to date.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-ftc-accuses-amazon-of-monopolistic-practices-in-long-expected-antitrust-suit-165035712.html?src=rss 

The Google Podcasts app is heading to a farm upstate run by Marc Maron and Sarah Koenig, as the service is shuttering next year. The app has been around since 2018, but it never approached the kind of mass adoption enjoyed by rivals Overcast, Spotify and the recently-improved Apple Podcasts. In other words, don’t feel bad if you’ve never heard of it.

The entire service is being folded into YouTube and its companion app YouTube Music. This is for good reason, as YouTube’s already a popular destination for podcast fans. According to statistics provided by Edison Research and published by Variety, YouTube services 23 percent of podcast listeners in the US. Google Podcasts, on the other hand, accounts for just four percent of listeners, despite having podcasts right in the name. It’s easier to pick up stakes and head to the where the fish are instead of trying to lure the fish to a random podcast app that nobody knows about.

YouTube announced that 2024 will see a significant increase in its “investment in the podcast experience,” right after parent company Alphabet puts the kibosh on Google’s dedicated app. It looks like YouTube Music will receive the lion’s share of these investments, with forthcoming “robust creation and analytics tools” in addition to streamlined RSS uploads for podcasters.

The company promises to also expand the ability to listen to podcasts in more locations, stating they’ll be available “everywhere YouTube Music listeners are already consuming their favorite content — in the background, in the car, offline and more.” Additionally, new “YouTube-only” tools and capabilities will be coming to podcasts on YouTube Music, though Google remains cagey on the specifics.

As for current Google Podcasts users, there’s going to be a “simple migration tool” to help with the transition to YouTube Music. You’ll also be able to manually add podcast RSS feeds to your YouTube Music library. The company even announced options for adding current podcast subscriptions to rival platforms, if you just want to start fresh. Google’s still gathering feedback regarding the migration process, so some of these features are liable to change before next year.

This isn’t the first big move YouTube Music has made this year to shore up some of those sweet, sweet podcast dollars. Back in April, the app launched the ability to watch and listen to podcasts without requiring a paid subscription, though you’ll still have to suffer through endless ads for Better Help. Podcasts on YouTube Music are already full-featured, with offline downloads, background play and the ability to switch between audio and visual content on smart speakers.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-podcasts-which-is-an-actual-thing-to-shut-down-next-year-172640308.html?src=rss 

The well-reviewed Beats Studio Buds + earbuds have fallen to an all-time low price of $100, beating a previous record discount by a whopping $30. All told, that’s a 40 percent discount, as the MSRP for these earbuds is $170. You can only access this deal at Amazon-owned Woot for the next five days or until the stock flies away into the loving arms of happy customers.

We gave these earbuds a score of 84 in our review and a primary ding was the price increase over the previous version, which this sale more than makes up for. Otherwise, the Beats Studio Buds + earbuds are a marked improvement over the previous gen, with larger microphones, acoustic vents added to the front and side and a 16 percent increase in battery life. The control button has also been moved to limit accidental presses during use.

All of these improvements combine to create a stellar pair of earbuds with top-notch sound quality and active noise canceling technology. Like many modern personal audio devices, there’s also a robust transparency mode so you can adjust the level of ambient noise you hear. The company’s custom acoustic platform has been designed to provide immersive sound when listening to music or when taking calls.

This Beats product ships with four pairs of silicone tips to suit different ear canal sizes, all while maintaining a comfortable seal. They are IPX4 rated for sweat and water-resistance, in addition to offering Bluetooth support and the capacity for spatial audio.

These earbuds are only four months old, so a refresh is still a ways off. It’s practically unheard of to get a discount this steep so early in the lifespan of a product, so take advantage if you need a new pair of buds. Remember, the Woot sale ends in five days or when the stock runs out, and the latter is likely to happen before the former.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/beats-studio-buds–earbuds-fall-to-a-new-low-of-100-154451352.html?src=rss 

Uber announced Tuesday that it’s struck a deal with Los Angeles Yellow Cab to deploy taxi fleets across Southern California. The multi-year partnership, also extending to five other SoCal affiliates, will allow traditional yellow taxis to pick up Uber passengers. The collaboration between the strange bedfellows follows similar trials in New York City and San Francisco.

Uber describes the alliance as mutually beneficial for all parties. Taxi drivers, struggling to recover from pandemic losses while competing with ridesharing, get access to Uber referrals. Meanwhile, riders could see faster pickups. (They can opt out of yellow taxis in the app if they prefer typical ridesharing cars.) And, of course, Uber gains a greater supply of rides.

The partnership stretches down the SoCal coast to the Mexico border. It includes 1,200 vehicles from Los Angeles Yellow Cab, San Diego Yellow Cab, California Yellow Cab, Long Beach Yellow Cab, Fiesta Taxi Cooperative, Inc. and United Checker Cab. Onboarding for taxicab drivers in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties begins this week. Once fully onboarded, drivers can start accepting trips at UberX prices.

The unusual pairing follows years of contentiousness between ridesharing and traditional taxi businesses. The two sides have often been at war since the early 2010s when Uber and Lyft’s existence began threatening the taxi industry. Uber claims cab drivers who took ridesharing fares in the NYC and SF pilots raked in an extra $1,767 per month from those trips alone and earned 23.8% more on average than taxi drivers who eschewed Uber.

“We are thrilled to announce this partnership with Uber because it’s a clear win-win for drivers and riders,” said William Rouse, CEO of Yellow Cab of Los Angeles. “We anticipate that this partnership will have a positive impact for our driver-owners as the pandemic recovery continues. No longer will drivers have to worry about finding a fare during off peak times or getting a street hail back into the city when in the outer suburbs.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/uber-partners-with-la-taxi-companies-to-expand-its-fleet-161206363.html?src=rss