Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: EC Official Expects to Ask Google for More Antitrust Concessions, (May 29, 2013)
Organizations Mentioned:Google Inc.
By Brian Hammond, TR Daily
European Commissioner for Competition Joaquin Almunia told members of the European Parliament that it is “almost 100 percent” certain that the Commission will ask Google, Inc., to improve its proposal to settle the Commission’s antitrust probe related to how Google presents search results.
During a hearing at the European Parliament, Mr. Almunia noted that the Commission has asked for input on commitments offered by Google in an effort to address the Commission’s concerns. Google’s proposals include labeling promoted links to its own specialized search services to distinguish them from standard web search results; offering all websites the option to opt out from the use of their content in Google’s specialized search services; and eliminating provisions in agreements with publishers that would require them to source online search ads exclusively from Google.
The time to review those proposals has been extended for another month, Mr. Almunia said. After analyzing the responses, the Commission will “ask Google probably, I can’t anticipate this formally, but almost 100%, we will ask Google to improve the proposals,” he said.
A Google spokesman said the company believes the proposal addressed the Commission’s concerns and that it would continue to work with the Commission to settle the case.
Meanwhile, Google reportedly may face additional scrutiny in both the United States and Canada. The FTC reportedly is launching a new inquiry into whether Google is improperly leveraging its display advertising business to push companies to use other services, and Canada’s Competition Bureau also is preparing to launch a formal investigation of Google, according to recent reports out of Canada.
Companies: Google Inc.
News: Antitrust