EU launches antitrust probe into alleged Google abuses
Dec 2nd, 2010 by Jessica Li
The probe does not imply any wrongdoing by Google
Google is facing strong negative publications about their content, competition and trustworthiness. “Complaints by search service providers about unfavorable treatment of their services in Google’s unpaid and sponsored search results coupled with an alleged preferential placement of Google’s own services.”
Despite Google denies about the fact, EU decided to investigate into the business for better understanding and more trustful information. For example, “the commission will look into allegations that Google manipulated elements of its system that determine the price paid for ads from these sites”, “the sites duplicates 79% of its content from other sites”, says the complaints.
They’ve been also investigated how the company deals with advertising partners: “exclusivity obligations on advertising partners, preventing them from placing certain types of competing ads on their web sites, as well as on computer and software vendors” which could be good to some extent saying that they prevent attracting businesses from making unethical competition actions on their website; and can be bad to some extent saying they are trying to get away from some accurate information of facts.
To conclude, Google should pay more attention on their publications by monitoring their business behaviors more broadly in all sectors, and to set clear regulations and goals among business structure.