Google will have to change the way it presents its own services in its search results if it wants to avoid antitrust charges in the European Union, according to comments made by EU antitrust chief Joaquín Almunia.
Almunia, the EU's competition commissioner, told the Financial Times (subscription required): "We are still investigating, but my conviction is [Google is] diverting traffic" to in-house services such as maps, comparison-shopping info, and flight details. "They are monetizing this kind of business, the strong position they have in the general search market, and this is not only a dominant position, I think -- I fear -- there is an abuse of this dominant position," Almunia said.
Google will have to satisfactorily address these concerns in its upcoming proposal to the European Commission, Almunia said, or the Commission will be "obliged" to issue formal charges against the company. Google's proposal is expected to come this month.
The European Commission has spent the past two years investigating Google after competitors such as Microsoft complained that the search powerhouse adjusted search r... [Read more]
by Edward Moyer via CNET
Posts
No comments: