4 months ago, euronews Videos
European Union competition regulators says they will press ahead with a probe into whether Google hurt rivals by manipulating internet searches, despite US regulators clearing the company.
“We have taken note of the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) decision, but we don’t see that it has any direct implications for our investigation, for our discussions with Google, which are ongoing,” said Michael Jennings, a spokesman for the European Commission, the EU executive.
The FTC said there was not enough evidence to pursue a big search-bias case.
The European Commission has been investigating complaints against Google for the past two years.
They include claims that it unfairly favoured its own services in its search results.
Google presented informal settlement proposals to the Commission in July. On Dec. 18 the Commission gave the company a month to come up with detailed proposals to resolve the investigation.
If it fails to address the complaints and is found guilty, Google could eventually be fined up to 10 percent of its revenue – a fine of up to $4 billion (3.07 billion euros).
Weak and troubling
Microsoft meanwhile has lashed out at the US Federal Trade Commission’s ruling on Google, calling it “weak” and “troubling”.
Dave Heiner, Microsoft’s Vice President and Deputy General Counsel complained: “We and so many others experience ongoing harm to competition in the marketplace.”
Microsoft – which has a rival search internet search engine, Bing – urged the EU to be tougher with Google.
“The good news is that other antitrust agencies, within the United States and overseas, are still examining Google’s conduct. In Europe (Competition Commissioner Joaquin) Almunia has made clear that he will close his investigation of Google only with a formal, binding order that addresses search bias and other issues. We remain hopeful that these agencies will stick to their established procedures, ensure transparency, and obtain the additional relief needed to address the serious competition law concerns that remain.”
Amerykańska komisja handlu zawarła ugodę z właścicielem wyszukiwarki internetowej Google. Firma będzie mogła blokować sprzedaż produktów co do których ma podejrzenia, że korzystają z należących do niej patentów, dopiero po prawomocnym wyroku sądu. Jednak wciąż może wyżej pozycjonować strony, których twórcy wykupili usługi w innych serwisach Google, np Google Store.
