Brussels, 30/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - Following a raft of complaints by various online search engine suppliers, the European Commission announced on 30 November 2010 that it is opening a formal investigation into the world's leading internet search engine, Google, suspected of abusing its dominant position.
The investigation will verify whether Google has infringed Article 102 of the EU treaty by punishing competition services in the lasting of free and chargeable searches on its web pages to the benefit of its own services by applying restrictive or exclusive clauses to its online advertising rules. Google is accused of giving preferential listing placements to its own 'vertical search services' like price comparisons, by sending competitors' services further down the list in order to exclude them; of downgrading the quality score of competing vertical services in the output of chargeable services (the score affects the likelihood of a search being listed by Google and its place in the listing, the price for the advertiser varying according to the score); forcing advertisers to accept exclusivity clauses by banning them from showing advertising provided by competitors on their websites; and introducing restrictions on the portability of online advertising to competing platforms. The Commission has informed the US authorities about opening the investigation, which might be extended to other internet search services for similar practices. The investigation is expected to last several months. (F.G. trans fl)