UPS to pay $8.4M to settle claim

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department says United Parcel Service Inc. must pay $8.4 million to settle allegations that the company was overcharging the federal government for package deliveries.

The settlement was announced Friday.

The Justice Department alleges UPS failed to abide by terms of its contract with the General Services Administration and overcharged the government for services from 2007 until 2014. The government says its contract required UPS to provide the same lower prices offered to other customers.

Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt said the settlement shows the government “will hold accountable” contractors who try to overcharge the federal government.

The settlement resolves the allegations, but there was no determination of liability.

UPS said the allegations stemmed from “good faith differences regarding contract interpretation” and it was pleased the matter was resolved.

Big tech firms asked for files

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers investigating the market dominance of Big Tech on Friday asked Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple for a broad range of documents, marking a step forward in Congress’ bipartisan probe of the companies.

Letters went out to the four companies from the leaders of the House Judiciary Committee and its subcommittee on antitrust, which has been conducting a sweeping antitrust investigation of the companies and their impact on competition and consumers. The lawmakers are seeking a detailed and broad range of documents related to the companies’ sprawling operations, including top executives’ internal communications.

The move comes as scrutiny of the big tech companies deepens and widens across the federal government and U.S. states and abroad. The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission are conducting competition investigations of the companies, and state attorneys general from both major political parties have opened antitrust investigations of Google and Facebook. The probe of Google has drawn participation by 50 states and territories.

“We have to act if we see that they’re breaking the law,” Rohit Chopra, one of the FTC commissioners, said Friday in an interview on CNBC. Chopra, a Democrat, wouldn’t confirm specifically names of companies that could be under investigation, but he said the agency is consulting closely with the Justice Department and the state attorneys general as their work proceeds.