According to a U.s. newspaper have Google and the European Commission reached settlement about the way in which Google’s own services integrates search results. According to competitors attracts Google’s own services, what the competition hinders.
As a result of the settlement will go search results within the European Union look slightly different than in the rest of the world; if there are own services of Google to appear in search results, this will be clearly indicated. This includes, for example search results from its News search service that will appear in the regular search results.
In addition, required Google itself, in some cases, linking to competitors. That happens in cases where Google makes money with ads, for example if you are looking for companies. In those cases appear links to at least three competing parties. In the part of the search engine where all links are paid, for example, Google Shopping, Google links ‘auction’ to competitors. How that works exactly, is not clear yet.
In addition, Google’s competitors the opportunity to give their content to exclude from his so-called verticals, search engines for a particular niche, for example, for local businesses or flights. At this moment, companies can put their content only for very Google to quit, not only for the vertical search engines. In addition, businesses will share their web pages to exclude. For example, a site like Yelp to prevent Google opening times of companies takes over. It is not yet known when the changes took effect.
If Google does not comply with the settlement, the European Union, the search giant fines of up to 10 percent of its annual revenue requirements. Opposite to this, is that Google with the settlement, a long, lingering, expensive antitrust case, avoids. Also, the company receives no penalty is given and the company is not formally found guilty of concurrentiebelemmering. In the nineties happened to Microsoft still does.
The settlement follows a two year investigation into the way Google’s own services integrates into the search engine. Competitors of Google to complain that the company is not honest with him, to went. Previously did Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt the complaints as nonsense; the search engine would only be in the interest of the user to act. Incidentally, completed the Us authorities earlier this year a similar investigation of concurrentiebelemmering by Google, but this was followed by no significant modifications in the search engine.
Update, 11:57: AP message that the Google settlement has been confirmed.