EC instigates probe into alleged Google “abuse”
The European Commission is to investigate complaints from rival search engines, including Foundem and ejustice.fr, that the market leader has abused its dominant position.
Allegations centre on complaints that Google artificially manipulated the ranking of competing services in its results, giving them a lower rank than was warranted.
These abuses allegedly took place in Google’s unpaid and sponsored search results and were mirrored by preferential placement of Google’s own services.
It is also claimed that Google placed “exclusivity obligations” on its advertising partners, preventing them from displaying competing ads on other sites and restricted the export of its online advertising campaign data to other platforms..
The “antitrust” investigation instigated by the EC does not imply any wrongdoing on Google’s part and the firm has committed itself to “address any concerns,” voiced by the Commission.