Brussels, 14/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 15 May, 400 European digital players, including media giants Lagardère, CCM Benchmark and Axel Springer, will publish details of a complaint they will be lodging with the European Commission against US internet giant Google over alleged abuse of its dominant position, and will sign a manifesto at the first Open Internet Project event.
Antoine Colombani, a European Commission spokesman for competition policy, said that the Commission had received numerous complaints against Google and would be studying any new complaints it receives. Following an investigation that began in 2010, Google has recently offered commitments that would become legally binding for the following five years if approved by the Commission. Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said on BFM TV on Monday evening that the decision would be taken in July or September. The Commission feels that Google's commitments are satisfactory.
In a letter to Mathias Döpfner, the managing director of Axel Springer, that was published in German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Almunia discusses points raised by Döpfner in an open letter to Eric Schmidt, Google's managing director. He rejects the argument that Google would gain additional income from the auction system that Google is suggesting for the clearly visible listing of three competing services alongside its own links. Almunia says this space on the screen would otherwise have to be sold by Google to its own clients rather than to its competitors and “this would not create any additional earnings for Google.” The Commissioner says that “once competition concerns are identified, the Commission cannot ask for remedies which go beyond what is necessary to allay them.” Almunia added: “The commitment proposals we have obtained from Google contain all the necessary safeguards to prevent Google from automatically redirecting users from a web link to an app. The commitments would not only apply to search queries entered on the web, but also to search entry points on Google's Android apps. Moreover, if the Commission decides to make the proposals legally binding on Google, an independent trustee would make sure that Google implements its commitments properly. Should Google breach them, the Commission would of course take action.” He said the Commission would continue to monitor Google's behaviour, but “issues related to copyright law require specific solutions that lie beyond the scope of anti-trust rules.”
Several MEPs and nine European Commissioners, including Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger, say that Google's commitments do not go far enough. (EL)