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posted by takyon on Wednesday April 15 2015, @02:55PM   Printer-friendly
from the click-monopoly dept.

BBC News reports that, following a 5-year investigation, the EU have filed an official anti-competition complaint against Google:

The Commission is responding to complaints that Google, which accounts for more than a [sic] 90% of EU-based web searches, favours its own products in search engine results.

The European Commission has investigated the antitrust allegations - made by Microsoft, Tripadvisor, Streetmap and others - since 2010.

They object to the fact that the firm places reviews from Google+, directions from Google Maps, music and videos from YouTube, and adverts from its AdWords platform ahead of others' links in relevant searches.

Google have not officially replied to the complaint yet and have ten weeks to do so, although they have informed staff they have "a very strong case" and that competition to its search business was "thriving". Competition commissions in India, Russia, Brazil, Argentina, Taiwan and Canada have opened investigations - the US commission dropped its probe in 2013 after Google agreed to several non-binding commitments. Competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager has also launched an investigation into the Android operating system.

Google Search Senior Vice President Amit Singhal has published an unofficial response to the complaint. The Register has additional coverage (article from yesterday), reactions from interested parties, and a longer analysis by Andrew Orlowski. Bloomberg has a timeline of key events spanning the 5-year investigation.

 
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  • (Score: 2) by lentilla on Wednesday April 15 2015, @07:14PM

    by lentilla (1770) on Wednesday April 15 2015, @07:14PM (#171146)

    If I ever walk into Walmart or Target

    That's a neat way of looking at the issue. Walmart has a store in your town. Consequently, you often find yourself shopping at Walmart. This means Walmart makes more money, which leads to them having enough money to open another store in another town. Can't fault them for that... and thus the cycle continues.

    Starting Score:    1  point
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