EU: Google search tactics hurt consumers, competitors and innovation

Drawing upon a nearly five-year probe, EU regulators filed a complaint alleging that Google has been improperly favouring its own shopping comparison service in its own search results. The charges could still be expanded to include other services highlighted in Google’s search results, such as travel recommendations and merchant reviews, mounting a challenge to the digital advertising system that generates most of the company’s revenue.

Frankly, I think they are doing this late in a product cycle where the market is going to correct most of the problems, maybe all of them, and it’s going to be too little, too late.

owa University law professor Herbert Hovenkamp, an expert in antitrust issues

Google has dismissed European Union charges that it abused its dominant position as Europe’s most-used search engine, downplaying its role as gatekeeper of the Internet. In a post on their official blog, Google said there were many different ways to access information online. The European Union’s executive branch filed official antitrust charges against Google on Wednesday, and opened a probe into its Android mobile system. If found guilty by the EU commission, Google may face billions of euros in fines.

Stay tuned on Android. There are going to be more complaints from apps people.

Gary Reback, a Carr Ferrell LLP attorney

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