ABUSE OF DOMINANT POSITION : COMPETITORS STILL REJECT GOOGLE'S CONCESSIONS.

The decision by the European Commission on Google's abuse of its dominant position on the internet search market is looming on the horizon. An announcement is expected soon. Google's competitors are not satisfied with the second set of commitments presented last October, however. On 12 December, they explained their position and presented studies spotlighting ongoing abuse by Google to the detriment of online retailers, travel sites, publishers, etc. European Commissioner for Competition, Joaquin Almunia, told the Spanish press, on 20 December, that "based on the different consultations conducted with more than 100 parties, the latest proposals are not acceptable since they do not address our competition concerns, and in particular with respect to the way Google's rivals are treated in vertical searches, the search for products and comparison of prices for restaurants and so on". He warned that "the ball is still in Google's court, but not for long," and that "it will soon be time to come to decisions".

DEVIATION OF TRAFFIC

The EU executive opened an investigation, on 30 November 2010, into the Mountain View-based firm's practices on the European online search market. The Commission is examining alleged abuse of dominant position that can affect users' choices on the internet and result in discrimination against its competitors.

Google is under review for: preferential treatment given to its own vertical search services specialised in a given area (travel or restaurants); the copying of content from rival services without their consent; exclusivity agreements required of its advertisers; and portability problems with its advertising platform. According to the Commission's statement of objections, Google has achieved dominance over its competitors by systematically giving priority to its own specialised sites and applying restrictions to other sites, reducing their capacity to optimise advertising income.

LATEST COMMITMENTS

To address the Union's concerns, Google presented an initial set of concessions on 25 April that were considered problematic by the Commission and the firm's main competitors. In market tests, rivals told the Commission that the label Google proposed to place on its own products would have redirected even more traffic to its sites. After concluding these tests, the Commission decided to reject Google's first proposals. On 21 October, Google submitted a second set of commitments meant to improve users' understanding of...