Dec 18, 2012 at 2:39pm ET by Danny Sullivan

The European Union appears to be closer to agreement with Google about anti-trust concerns relating to search, and action seems likely to happen in January. Meanwhile, the expected US Federal Trade Commission ruling that was supposed to happen before the end of this year now looks delayed into at least next month. Multiple sources are reporting that the EU and Google are nearing an agreement, with the matter to be settled in January. From Bloomberg: “I have decided to continue with the process towards reaching an agreement” to settle the investigation, [EU Competition Commissioner [...]

Reports Confirm Google To Escape FTC Antitrust Wrath

Dec 17, 2012 at 7:31am ET by Greg Sterling

Confirming a report from the New York Post last week, the Wall Street Journal and Politico both published articles that said Google would emerge basically unscathed from the FTC's antitrust investigation. Google will apparently agree to make voluntary changes to various practices and will thus avoid having to sign a consent degree. The voluntary actions, according to the articles, would involve limiting use of third party content in some of Google's services (e.g., restaurant reviews) and to make it easier for AdWords campaigns to be transferred to competing platforms (i.e., adCenter). G [...]

US, European Antitrust Regulators To Confer On Google Case

Nov 30, 2012 at 1:10pm ET by Greg Sterling

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the top two US and European antitrust regulators will meet in Europe next week to compare notes and discuss potential outcomes. Both are negotiating with Google to settle antitrust claims that would avoid formal legal action. The FTC's Chairman Jon Leibowitz will meet with the EU's Joaquin Almunia. The claims against Google on both sides of the Atlantic are similar, though not identical. In addition, European and American antitrust laws are different though they express the same overarching principles. The WSJ reported that any concessions made [...]

Curtain Rises On Act 3 Of Google Antitrust Drama As Larry Page Meets With FTC

Nov 28, 2012 at 11:09am ET by Greg Sterling

Google CEO Larry Page met with representatives of the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) yesterday, according to a Bloomberg report, as the company engages in antitrust-settlement talks to avert potential litigation. The article also says that formal settlement discussions have been going on for about a week. The Bloomberg piece also reports that the FTC "has told Google it won’t accept a resolution short of a consent decree." However Google doesn't want this outcome apparently because of the ongoing enforcement authority it would grant the agency. Neither Google nor the FTC truly want [...]

Report: FTC Likely To Abandon “Vertical Search” Antitrust Claims Against Google

Nov 21, 2012 at 10:25am ET by Greg Sterling

There are now enough indications to suggest that any antitrust settlement between the FTC and Google -- and the FTC would much prefer to settle than test its case in court -- won't involve "vertical search." An earlier Reuters report, probably resulting from an internal FTC leak, suggested that vertical search wasn't the core of the agency's case against Google. Today Bloomberg is reporting that the FTC is "wavering" on whether to pursue a formal action against Google. In particular the agency's own people (anonymous sources) suggest they can't make the "vertical search bias" claim stick [...]

Report: FTC Ready To Give Google Antitrust “Ultimatum”

Nov 12, 2012 at 3:41pm ET by Greg Sterling

According to a piece in the Wall Street Journal today and a parallel Bloomberg report Google faces an increasingly likely antitrust complaint unless the company steps up and offers some concessions (or additional concessions) in settlement discussions with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). According to Bloomberg, US FTC Chairman Jonathan Leibowitz is "pressing" Google to settle potential antitrust claims "in the next few days or face a formal complaint." This is according to "people familiar with the situation." The phrase "people familiar with the situation" suggests FTC employees who [...]

FTC Playing Antitrust Poker With Google And Looking For A Way To Save Face

Oct 18, 2012 at 11:51am ET by Greg Sterling

Last week there was a report that "four out of five FTC commissioners" favored going forward with an antitrust case against Google. The Reuters article in which the claim appeared mentions but doesn't emphasize the litany of "vertical search" complaints against Google raised by competitors. Those "Google favors its own results" claims have been at the center of the European antitrust inquiry and, perhaps until now, at the heart of any potential US case against Google. Yet the article seems to suggest that the FTC is looking elsewhere for Google liability -- or vulnerability. Reuters wr [...]

Report: Majority Of FTC Commissioners Want Antitrust Action Against Google, But Vertical Search Might Not Be Issue

Oct 12, 2012 at 7:07pm ET by Greg Sterling

Reuters is reporting that majority of those on the US Federal Trade Commission believe an antitrust case should be brought against Google. But if action comes, it doesn't seem likely to involve Google being found to "favor" its own "vertical" search engines like local or shopping over competing ones. Apparently four of the five FTC commissioners are now convinced that "Google illegally used its dominance of the search market to hurt its rivals." Another commissioner is not similarly convinced. The identities of the commissioners in favor of the action against Mountain View were not reveale [...]

Report: Google Seeks To Avoid EU’s Antitrust Wrath By “Labeling” Its Own Services

Oct 9, 2012 at 7:23pm ET by Greg Sterling

The Financial Times (FT) is reporting that the thrust of Google's antitrust settlement proposal to European Competition Czar Joaquín Almunia primarily involves "labeling" its own services to distinguish them from other organic search results. According to the FT, citing "people familiar with the search giant's submission": Under the proposal, Google would put its brand on any of its own maps, stock quotes, airline flight details or other pieces of information returned with search results. It is an attempt to resolve regulators’ fears that Google is unfairly squeezing out other specialis [...]

FTC: We’ll Decide On Google-Antitrust Action By End Of Year

Sep 20, 2012 at 10:36am ET by Greg Sterling

Speaking at an antitrust symposium sponsored by Georgetown Law School in Washington DC, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said that the commission was "on track" to decide on whether or not to pursue an antitrust case against Google "by the end of the year." In other words: after the election -- not that a decision would necessarily have an impact one way or the other. However, if the FTC were to bring a case before November it might be used as fodder for the critique that Washington is trying to get in the way of "job creating industries." Leibowitz is quoted by the NY Times saying at the even [...]

Seeking To Pressure Regulators, FairSearch Announces New Members, Issues Missive Seeking “Meaningful” Remedies

Sep 19, 2012 at 1:40pm ET by Greg Sterling

If I were a betting person I'd say that the European Commission and FTC antitrust investigations against Google will wrap up without any major "structural" changes or dramatic new rules imposed on the company. Indeed there were premature reports that Google had already settled with the EU. An announcement of some sort is imminent I suspect. In the US a number of legal scholars (both independent and sponsored by Google) have come forward to argue that under the current antitrust framework Google would potentially win any case brought by the feds. In addition a new FTC nominee disfavors antit [...]

Google Doesn’t Require Google Search On Android, Despite What FairSearch & Microsoft Want You To Believe

Sep 13, 2012 at 6:39pm ET by Danny Sullivan

Fairsearch, a group backed by Microsoft and other Google competitors to lobby that Google isn't "fair" to them with its search results, has been having a event today to push its view of all that's wrong with Google. That includes building a myth that Google requires that all Android devices to use Google search. Google doesn't do that. It never has. But that's a good story the group still wants to tell. The FairSearch Event Today's mythbuilding came out of a panel called "Tech Executives: Exploring Barriers to Innovation in Mobile and Online Services," part of the FairSearch "Searching for I [...]

FTC Nominee Says No To Google Antitrust Action, Anti-Google Voter Survey Argues Yes

Sep 12, 2012 at 11:08am ET by Greg Sterling

As the FTC considers whether to brand Google a "monopoly" and initiate an antitrust action against the company, it appears new FTC nominee Joshua Wright, a law professor from George Mason University, is not among those who favor it. In addition to being nominated by President Obama, Wright is supported by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. Politico points out that "Wright is also listed as a senior adjunct fellow for TechFreedom, a think tank that Google has listed as among the groups at which it sponsors policy fellows." Wright has also written reports and blog posts arguing the cas [...]

Google Wins Major Antitrust Victory In Brazil, Does It Foreshadow Broader EU & US Wins?

Sep 10, 2012 at 2:48pm ET by Greg Sterling

In addition to the various government antitrust investigations against Google going on around the world, there is a parallel world of private lawsuits by Google rivals and critics that make similar unfair competition or antitrust claims against Mountain View. They generally allege, among other things, that Google is unfairly referring traffic to its own "vertical sites" and thereby violating antitrust or fair competition rules. Comparable issues are at the heart of the European Comission's "four concerns" that are now the basis for antitrust settlement talks with Google. The same or similar [...]

Confirmed: Amazon’s New Kindle Fire Tablets To Use Bing As Default Search Engine

Sep 7, 2012 at 4:30pm ET by Greg Sterling

Ubergizmo is reporting that Bing (not Google) will be the default search engine for the Amazon browser on the new Kindle tablets. (We were able to confirm this with Microsoft directly earlier this evening.) The original Kindle Fire used Google. Amazon is likely to sell several million of these new devices given their aggressive pricing (partly subsidized by ads). If so, that could provide a boost to Bing, especially in a mobile/quasi-mobile context. There are several alternative browsers currently available for Kindle Fire/HD including Opera, Maxthon and Dolphin. I would anticipate tha [...]

FTC On Search Engine Disclosure: Aware Of Issues, No Further Comment

Sep 5, 2012 at 11:24am ET by Danny Sullivan

In July, I wrote the US Federal Trade Commission asking for it to review whether search engines are complying with paid listing disclosure guidelines it created in 2002, since it appeared these were being ignored. After two months, I finally got a response. The FTC is aware of the issues but didn't have more to say at the moment. I sent my original letter on June 10, then followed up with the FTC a month later in July after not hearing back. After another month, I tried again in mid-August. This time a response came back: The Commission staff is aware of the issues you raise, and we have c [...]

Google Antitrust “Settlement” Take Two: Not Quite Yet

Jul 25, 2012 at 4:22pm ET by Greg Sterling

On the basis of statements and representations made in a Financial Times report, I wrote a post yesterday entitled "Google Strikes Antitrust Deal With EU, Avoids Legal Battle." But it's clear 24 hours later that it was premature to make such sweeping statements and declare the case "settled" in Europe. A Reuters article today makes clear that a settlement has not been formally agreed. In the article, EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia speaks in the future tense about gaining a settlement agreement with Google. What appears to be true is that Google has made general concessions t [...]

After A Month, Silence From The FTC On Search Engine Disclosure

Jul 11, 2012 at 12:22pm ET by Danny Sullivan

A month ago, I sent a letter to the US Federal Trade Commission asking it to review how search engines are complying with its guidelines on disclosing listings where payment is involved. The silence since then, as the saying goes, has been deafening. That's a pity given how important that review is to the on-going antitrust investigation of Google on both sides of the Atlantic. This week, I emailed the FTC on Monday as a follow-up, asking if after so much time, it had any response at all. I heard nothing back. Later that day, I went old school, picked up the phone and called the press offi [...]

Settlement Of Google-Europe Antitrust Claims Might Involve Labeling “Google Products” In SERP

Jun 11, 2012 at 10:27am ET by Greg Sterling

This morning I read Danny Sullivan's letter to the FTC about paid inclusion and search engine disclosures. It was prompted by NexTag CEO Jeffrey Katz's article last week in the Wall Street Journal complaining about Google's market dominance and alleged abuse of that position. Contained within Danny's article is a potential face-saving solution to the most vexing part of the antitrust case Google faces in Europe: what to do about the inclusion of "vertical" Google properties in search results. As you recall European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia recently issued a statement that fe [...]

A Letter To The FTC Regarding Search Engine Disclosure Compliance

Jun 10, 2012 at 1:37pm ET by Danny Sullivan

In 2002, the US Federal Trade Commission created guidelines on how search engines should disclose paid placement and paid inclusion listings. It's become clear to me over the past two weeks that the search engine industry has either largely forgotten these guidelines or is ignoring them. That's why I've written a letter today to the FTC asking that the agency conduct a compliance review, as well as a review to see if its guidelines should be updated. My letter is below. ========== US Federal Trade Commission Attn: Chairman Jon Leibowitz; Bureau of Consumer Protection, Division of Adv [...]

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FTC & EU Settlements On Google Anti-Trust Issues To Happen Next Month?