EC sees Google decision in coming weeks

News Broadband Europe 16 SEP 2013
EC sees Google decision in coming weeks
The European Commission will announce in the coming weeks whether's it's satisfied with the concessions offered by Google to end the competition investigation into the search activities of the company. In a speech in Florence, EU commissioner for competition Joaquin Almunia said he will take a decision "in the coming weeks". This could mean making Google's proposals legally binding commitments or possible sanctions against the company. He said it was "still open at this time" whether Google's commitments resolved the competition concerns.

Categories:

Internet

Companies:

Google

Regions:

Europe

Tags:

Regulations, Portals / social media, Advertising services, Government policy, Legislation - Lawsuits

Related Articles

EUROPE 15 MEI 2014

OIP files EC competition complaint against Google

The Open Internet Project, an initiative bringing together some 400 European internet actors, has made a complaint to the European Commission's competition directorate general, accusing Google of new anti-competitive practices and seeking to end its alleged abuse of dominant position, AFP reports. OIP includes media groups including Alex Springer, Lagardere Active and CCM Benchmark, and online publishing association Geste, tour operators, consumer associations and startups from 15 European countries denounc

EUROPE 5 FEB 2014

EC accepts Google concessions in search market

The European Commission has agreed to the concessions offered by Google aimed at improving competition in the online search market. Pending comment from other market players on the committments from Google, the EC aims to sign a binding five-year agreement with the company, putting an end to its compettion investigation of the search giant. Under Google's improved proposal, the company would guarantee that whenever it promotes its own specialised search services on its site (e.g. for products, hotels, resta

EUROPE 29 JAN 2014

Google close to settlement in EU competition case - report

Google is close to settling the European Union's antitrust probe of the search giant, two sources told Reuters. Google and the European Commission are close to a deal and a decision is expected in the next few days or in a couple of weeks at the latest, a senior European Union official told the new agency. A second person familiar with the matter confirmed the likely settlement. Google and the EC declined to comment. The unnamed EU official said Google's latest proposal, its third since EU Competition Commi

EUROPE 22 DEC 2013

Google competition proposals not good enough - Almunia

Google needs to revise its proposals to calm concerns of anti-competitive practices in the search market and settle the European Commission's charges against the search giant. Joaquin Almunia, the EU's competition commissioner, told Spanish radio that the latest offer by the world's largest search engine was "not acceptable" and failed to address concerns that it may discriminate against rivals in its search results. "The ball is still in Google's court," Almunia said, according to a transcript of the inter

EUROPE 13 DEC 2013

Industry opposes Google proposals in EC search case

Google is unlikely to see a quick settlement to the European Commission's investigation of its search activities, after a group of industry rivals rejected the remedies proposed by the search giant. In late October, the EC asked around 125 companies to respond to Google's proposals for improving competition in the search market. "The data proves that Google has no interest in restoring competition or in offering consumers the best search results," according to Thomas Vinje, a spokesman for FairSearch Europe

EUROPE 1 OKT 2013

EC nears settlement with Google in search investigation

The European Commission is nearing a settlement with Google to end the investigation into anti-competitive practices on the company's search services. Joaquin Almunia, European commissioner for competition affairs, told a a hearing at the European Parliament that the new commitments proposed by Google go much further to addressing the competition concerns, suggesting the internet company may be able to avoid fines and reach a settlement. The EC first tested proposals from Google with the market in April, bu

EUROPE 13 SEP 2013

EC: binnen enkele weken oordeel over nieuw compromis Google

De Europese Commissie zal binnen enkele weken laten weten of het genoegen neemt met een compromisvoorstel van Google. Google wordt er van beschuldigd eigen diensten bij zoekresultaten te bevoordelen. De Europese Commissie heeft de beschuldigingen drie jaar onderzocht en kwam tot de conclusie dat er inderdaad sprake was van misbruik van Googles machtspositie. Om een boete te voorkomen kwam Google met voorstellen om de totstandkoming van zoekresultaten aan te passen. Het bedrijf kwam in april met een pakket m

EUROPE 10 SEP 2013

Google offers new concessions in EU search investigation

Google has submitted a new proposal to European Union regulators on how to settle the almost three-year-old competition investigation into the way it operates its search services. EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said in an interview with Bloomberg on 08 September that the new proposal was submitted a week ago. "If we are satisfied with the new proposals, we can advance toward an agreed solution in the coming months," he said. Google's previous offer to label its branded search services and show

EUROPE 18 JUL 2013

EC asks Google for more concessions in search

The European Commission has asked Google to make further concessions as part of its investigation into the way the company ranks and displays search results, the Wall Street Journal reports. Google submitted formal proposals in April following the EC's investigation of the company for a possible abuse of its dominant position. "After the analysis of the results of the market test that concluded at the end of last month…I concluded that the proposals that Google sent to us months ago are not enough to overco

EUROPE 28 JUN 2013

EC wants more search competition remedies from Google

Google must significantly improve its commitments to the European Commission about how it lists its own products in its search engine or it will feel more legal pressure, EC antitrust commissioner Almunia said in Madrid. According to Bloomberg, he said this would involve issuing a statement of objections and eventually a decision "prohibiting" certain behaviour. Google whose first list of remedies address self-promotion in the search engine and the charge that it copies rivals' restaurant and travel reviews

EUROPE 25 JUN 2013

European publishers oppose Google concessions to EC

The European Publishers Council has called on the European Commission to reject the concessions offered by Google in the EC's attempt to curb the search engine's dominance. Google proposed in April a range of changes to how it collects and displays search results in order to address the EC's concerns, and industry stakeholders have until 27 June to respond. The EPC, a coalition of newspaper and periodical publishers, said in a statement that Google needs to "fundamentally improve" its proposals, otherwise t

EUROPE 25 APR 2013

EC seeks comments on Google search proposals

The European Commission has published the proposals it received from Google to resolve concerns over possible anti-competitive behaviour in its search and advertising services. The EC is asking for comments from the market before it decides whether to agree to a settlement with Google and make the proposed changes binding on the company. In March, the EC informed Google of four areas where it thought the search giant may be abusing its dominant position. To address these concerns, Google has offered to labe

EUROPE 15 APR 2013

Google offers EU changes to search results - report

Google has agreed to make changes to the results page on its search engine as part of concessions to the European Commission in its competition investigation, the Financial Times reports. People who had seen the proposed settlement said Google promises to make users in Europe "clearly aware" when promoting its own specialist search services – such as those for restaurants, finance and shopping. The company will also systematically highlight links to rival specialised, or vertical, search engines. The agreem

EUROPE 12 APR 2013

Google submits search concessions to EC

Google has submitted its definitive proposal to avoid being fined by the European Commission for breaking competition law in the way it lists search results, Reuters reports. The document was drafted in close consultation with EC officials, who had several weeks to study and comment on Google's initial propositions. The proposal will now be shared with European industry experts, including the plaintiffs, to advise on whether to accept the concessions offered by Google or to seek more. The EC has been invest

Just In

19 DEC 16:42

SLT-Mobitel launches 5G network in Sri Lanka

19 DEC 16:19

Dialog Axiata launches 5G network, connects 1.5 million subscribers

19 DEC 15:56

UK govt to ban AI-enabled nudification apps to protect women, girls

19 DEC 15:42

3 UK launches last-minute Christmas sale

Commentary

13:56

Video market set for slower growth ahead

11:38

Netflix buys Warner Bros to deepen content catalogue

11:11

KPN's mixed performance in Q3 raises questions for strategy day

15:26

Stock markets breaking records but what happened to Odido's IPO plans?

Background

01:04

The week in telecom: Wi-Fi bolt-ons take off to boost broadband growth, video market works on consolidation

01:39

The week in telecom: Netflix wins bidding for Warner Bros, Apple poaches new execs, Samsung debuts trifold

13:51

Proximus vs. Telenet: Proximus performs better in Q3 while Telenet uses up cash

14:16

Proximus Domestic still struggling with low margins

Complete profile

Before downloading the whitepaper, we would like to ask you to complete your profile with company and position. After confirming you will receive the white paper.