For quite some time European regulators seemed eager to crack down on Google simply because it was too big, too powerful. But now they may be signaling that bigness by itself may be legally acceptable, so long as regulators don’t find Google has “abused” that position. Yet abuse of Google’s search dominance is precisely what […]
In the past Microsoft has been accused of orchestrating third party legal complaints against Google like some behind-the-scenes Cardinal Richelieu or puppet master. But now Redmond has come out of the shadows and joined the list of companies that have filed formal complaints against Google in Europe. “Microsoft is filing a formal complaint with the […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google’s New China Plan: Target Display Advertisers, Report Says Despite its ongoing struggles in China, Google reportedly has a new plan for its business there: targeting display advertising, particularly amongst the […]
As both the Wall Street Journal and Telegraph UK are reporting, the EU has received complaints into Google’s competitive practices and potential abuse of its dominant market position in Europe. These come from some private companies, which we discussed in part before. One of those companies, the shopping engine Ciao, was acquired by Microsoft in […]
Europe has generally emerged as a much more forceful player in anti-trust law than regulators in the US (despite their tough rhetoric). Some people believe, in fact, that in Microsoft’s case Europe has treated the company with a very heavy hand and turned it into the equivalent of a cash machine, imposing billions in fines. […]
Over the past couple of years Microsoft and Google have become increasingly intense (maybe even bitter) rivals. Most recently the two companies used Yahoo as something of a pawn their game. It may be somewhat unfair to all involved to characterize Yahoo as a “pawn.” But Microsoft tried to buy Yahoo primarily as a way […]
Now back to news of that other acquisition that was dominating headlines and speculation until last Friday: Google-DoubleClick. DowJones newswires reports that “the European Union’s antitrust regulator has prepared a draft ‘statement of objections’ to Google Inc.’s planned $3.1 billion takeover of DoubleClick.” This does not mean that the EU will block the deal. However, […]