Reuters: Technology News: FTC to delay Google anti-trust probe decision: source

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FTC to delay Google anti-trust probe decision: source Dec 19th 2012, 01:57 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News EU's Almunia sets deadline for Google antitrust plan 2:21pm EST Google could emerge unscathed from federal web search probe: WSJ Mon, Dec 17 2012 Google, U.S. regulators close to deal in patents dispute: sources Tue, Dec 11 2012 Regulators start probe into children's online privacy Mon, Dec 10 2012 Google's GMail service suffers disruption Mon, Dec 10 2012 Analysis & Opinion Counterparties: Central bankers are the new rockstars Facebook may yet learn that power does not ensure immortality Related Topics Investing Simplified » Tech » Regulatory News » Breakingviews » A neon Google logo is seen at the new Google office in Toronto, November 13, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Mark Blinch WASHINGTON | Tue Dec 18, 2012 8:57pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which had been expected to wrap up an anti-trust probe into Google within days, will now delay its decision for weeks, a source said on Tuesday. Google has been accused of giving competitors in lucrative areas like travel a lower ranking in search results, thus making it harder for their customers to find them. Google has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz had hoped to wrap up the long-running investigation this month. Talk of a potential settlement in recent days had suggested Google would emerge from the more than two-year probe with little more than a slap on the wrist from the commission. The delay, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, came after the European Union took a hard line with the search engine giant on Tuesday in a parallel investigation. The EU's antitrust chief, Joaquin Almunia, gave Google a month to come up with detailed proposals to resolve a two-year investigation into complaints that it used its power to block rivals, including Microsoft. The European Commission has been examining informal settlement proposals from Google since July but has not sought feedback from the complainants, suggesting it is not convinced by what Google has put on the table so far. Google's critics have accused it of a long list of wrongdoing - everything from putting its own products high up in search results to bring them business to "scraping" reviews of hotels and restaurants from other sites for its own products. Google had reportedly been prepared to make some changes to its business practices to secure an end to the FTC investigation but had balked at allowing regulators to interfere with its search algorithm. The company was also apparently prepared to make concessions on certain patent infringement lawsuits. (Reporting By Diane Bartz; Editing by Ros Krasny and Michael Perry) Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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