Google will be forced to change the way it presents search results in Europe or face antitrust charges for “diverting traffic” to its own services, the EU’s competition chief has said, laying out a sharply different approach from his US counterparts.
In contrast to the Federal Trade Commission, which has given the all-clear to Google’s search engine, Joaquín Almunia has vowed to prevent Google distorting choices for consumers and taking business from rivals.
“We are still investigating, but my conviction is diverting traffic,” Mr Almunia said, referring to Google’s preferential treatment of its own vertical search services.
“They are monetising this kind of business, the strong position they have in the general search market and this is not only a dominant position, I think – I fear – there is an abuse of this dominant position,” Europe’s antitrust enforcer said.
His words mark a direct ultimatum to Google as talks on a pre-charge settlement enter a critical phase.
Concerns in Brussels
They offer the most detailed public explanation of concerns in Brussels and hint at the likely shape of any deal, which would mark the first time Google has bowed to regulatory pressure on its core business.
Mr Almunia said his concern was over “the way they present their own services” and that he was “not discussing the algorithm” – the jealously guarded heart of Google’s search engine.
This suggests that one element of the solution will be labelling when Google’s in-house services – such as maps, airline flight details or shopping comparison information – are artificially given a higher billing than rivals.
But other changes are also likely to apply to how Google services are displayed within general search results.
Any European limits on Google could hamper the ambition that chief executive Larry Page has set for the group to turn itself from a search engine that primarily displays links to other sites into a “knowledge engine” answering users’ questions directly with information from Google’s own services.
While Mr Almunia said Google showed a more constructive approach at a meeting in December, he warned he would be “obliged” to issue formal charges if its proposal – expected this month – is unsatisfactory.
‘Good for competition’
Google insists its services are “good for users and good for competition”; it would not be required to admit wrongdoing in a pre-charge settlement.
Google’s opponents will welcome Mr Almunia’s tougher line on search than the FTC.
Even so, the concessions offered to Brussels are likely to fall short of what Microsoft and other complainants are pressing for.
The competition commissioner said he was “not worried” by the threat of legal challenges.
– Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2013
