Posts tagged AntiTrust
US Senators Ask FTC to Launch Formal Anti-trust Investigation into Google
Dec 20th
Two US senators have asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to launch a formal anti-trust investigation into Google.
Senators Herb Kohl and Mike Lee have written to the FTC (PDF) about their fears that Google could be abusing its dominant posi…
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Google Braces For Early 2012 (400-Page) EU Antitrust Report
Dec 2nd
According to dealReporter (via the Financial Times), the first stage of the formal European antitrust investigation against Google is almost complete. Google will shortly receive a 400-page “statement of objections” presenting findings from the European Commission’s investigation….
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ShopCity: Latest Publisher To File Antitrust Complaint Against Google
Nov 15th
Google Is Target of ShopCity Antitrust Complaint to FTC from Bloomberg News reports yet another FTC antitrust complaint was filed against Google. This time the complaint was filed by ShopCity, a service aimed at helping local businesses sell products online. The complaint was filed on November 11th…
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Search In Pics: Bing Seahawks Ad, Yahoo Acting Scary, Google Antitrust Protestors by @rustybrick
Oct 7th
In this week’s Search In Pictures, here are the latest images culled from the web, showing what people eat at the search engine companies, how they play, who they meet, where they speak, what toys they have, and more.
Bing Ads At Seattle Seahawks:
Googlers Playing Nok Hockey:
Google Wallet…
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Google’s Antitrust Message: Trust Us
Sep 22nd
On Wednesday afternoon, Google chairman Eric Schmidt defended Google and its business practices before the Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee. During the hearing, Schmidt repeatedly told the committee that Google has done nothing wrong and indicated the company’s desire to fully cooperate with the Federal Trade Commission and authorities.
The key antitrust issue being investigated is whether Google is abusing its market dominance by displaying its own sites in lieu of competitors’ sites. At one point during the hearing, Mike Lee, the ranking Republican on the antitrust subcommittee, said, “When I see you magically coming up third every time … you’ve cooked it so you’re always third.” Schmidt quickly replied without hesitation: “Senator, may I simply say that I can assure you we’ve not cooked anything.”
However, Senator Richard Blumenthal, who battled Google during his time as a state attorney general, did not seem satisfied with Schmidt’s reassurances. The Senator clearly communicated his skepticism with the following analogy:
“You run the racetrack. You own the racetrack. For a long time, you didn’t have any horses. Now you have horses … and your horses seem to be winning.”
After the hearing, Senator Lee indicated that he would like to see Google voluntarily and adequately address the concerns of the competition.
In addition to the ongoing congressional investigation, the US Federal Trade Commission, European Commission, and South Korean officials are all investigating whether or not Google is abusing its power. Also, there are currently 13 different countries investigating whether Google is disregarding privacy-related laws.
Microsoft was the last company to face this type of intense antitrust scrutiny, which led to a prolonged trial, appeal, and eventual settlement. Unless Google wants to follow the path of its corporate predecessor, Schmidt must quickly dispel the accusations and satisfy the investigating agencies.
[Sources Include: LA Times, Washington Post, & Politico; Photo by Charles Haynes]
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Google’s Antitrust Message: Trust Us
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Yelp Hopes to Serve Grilled Google: Antitrust Hearing Today
Sep 21st
This afternoon, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt is expected to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The hearing, which is appropriately titled “The Power of Google: Serving Consumers or Threatening Competition,” will investigate whether Google has abused its monopolistic market dominance in the search and online marketing sector. During the hearing, the committee will question Eric Schmidt, Nextag CEO Jeff Katz, and Yelp co-founder Jeremy Stoppelman.
Stoppelman is claiming that Google is abusing its power by misusing Yelp content and favoring inferior Google products over competing products. He released the following statement on the Yelp blog yesterday:
“Although Google had previously acknowledged that it needed a license to use Yelp’s content, it was now using it without permission to prop up its own, less effective product. In some instances, Google even presented this content to its users as if it were its own.”
During the hearing, Stoppelman will recount the “impossible choice” Google provided: Yelp could either allow Google to use Yelp’s content for Google Places or remove Yelp from the search index. He will argue that this “false choice” left Yelp with no choice at all.
In addition, Stoppelman claims that by design it is impossible for Google’s competitors to outrank Google’s products on some search queries. He claims these instances are not due to algorithmic factors, but, instead, are due to Google’s insatiable hunger for more search revenue. Stoppelman will argue that this hearing is vitally important and that it will decide if innovation and new ideas are able to fairly compete against large businesses and monopolistic powers.
Schmidt will undoubtedly state that Google is attempting to provide end-users with the most relevant search results. In addition, Google executive chairman will argue that Stoppelman’s accusations of ranking by design in lieu of algorithmic factors are false. In addition, Google will likely claim that competition is alive and well and assert that the search giant has no desire to monopolize innovation.
Although the outcome of this hearing remains unknown, it is certain to shape both innovation and the technology development in the near future.
[Sources Include: Yelp! Blog & Senate Judiciary Committee]
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Yelp Hopes to Serve Grilled Google: Antitrust Hearing Today
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Google Expects A Black Eye At Today’s Senate Antitrust Hearing
Sep 21st
We’re apparently not going to hear anything new at today’s Senate subcommittee hearing on Google and competition. (Danny Sullivan and Gary Price will attend and blog the live testimony.) What we’re likely going to get are very polarized views of Google and how it operates: Google…
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Google Expects A Black Eye At Today’s Antitrust Hearing
Sep 21st
We’re apparently not going to hear anything new at today’s Senate subcommittee hearing on Google and competition. (Danny Sullivan and Gary Price will attend and blog the live testimony.) What we’re likely going to get are very polarized views of Google and how it operates: Google…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
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