Europe Thinks Google Can Do Better on Search Concessions
European Commission competition head Joaquin Almunia, in his continued efforts to crack down on Google’s alleged anticompetitive search practices, announced today at a news briefing that the concessions Google has offered “are not enough to overcome our concerns,” according to Reuters.
Almunia said he had written to Google Chairman Eric Schmidt to ask for better remedies, following feedback of a market test that added labels to better identify Google’s own services when they appear in search results (see screenshot at right).
Rivals say that this labeling only serves to promote Google products.
Wrote a Google spokesperson today, “Our proposal to the European Commission clearly addresses their four areas of concern. We continue to work with the Commission to settle this case.”
European regulators have been investigating Google since 2010, and Google submitted remedies earlier this year. Where the U.S. Federal Trade Commission already settled its antitrust concerns with Google, the EU is still threatening substantial fines and court battles.