Reuters: Technology News: Google says did 'good job' replying to EU antitrust probe

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Google says did 'good job' replying to EU antitrust probe Jun 24th 2013, 16:10 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News EU clears ICE's $8.2 billion takeover of NYSE Euronext without conditions 10:22am EDT France, Spain take action against Google on privacy Thu, Jun 20 2013 CORRECTED-Britain, France face EU action over Eurotunnel charges Thu, Jun 20 2013 CORRECTED-UPDATE 2-EU fines Lundbeck and others 146 mln euros for blocking rival drugs Wed, Jun 19 2013 Web companies begin releasing surveillance information after U.S. deal Sat, Jun 15 2013 Analysis & Opinion Review: Hollywood blinds itself to Google's faults A taxation conundrum The Google signage is seen at the company's headquarters in New York January 8, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Andrew Kelly By Ethan Bilby BRUSSELS | Mon Jun 24, 2013 12:10pm EDT BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Google said on Monday it had done a good job coming up with concessions to allay EU antitrust concerns it blocks competitors in web search results, as it sought to deflect criticism the proposals would serve only to reinforce its dominance. The world's most popular search engine has been under investigation for nearly three years by the European Commission, the EU executive. More than a dozen companies, including Microsoft, British price comparison site Foundem and German online mapping company Hotmaps, have accused it of squeezing them out of the market. Google proposed concessions in April, hoping to end a case which could otherwise lead to a fine of up to $5 billion. It offered to label its own products in internet search results and make it easier for advertisers to move to rival platforms. Its competitors, asked by the Commission to comment on the proposals, said the plans would actually strengthen Google's dominance of internet searches by forcing rivals to compete among themselves, and would also raise their costs. EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said Google would almost certainly be asked to improve its proposals. However Google's general counsel Kent Walker said on Monday that its offer went far enough. "Our proposals are meaningful and comprehensive, providing additional choice and information while also leaving room for future innovation," Walker said on the company's Europe blog. "That's why we focused on addressing the Commission's specific concerns, and we think we did a pretty good job." Walker's were the first substantial comments from Google on the matter since it made its offer. If the Commission decides Google's proposals resolve the competition concerns, they can make the commitments legally binding for the company. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission ended its investigation into the same matter without any significant action in January, handing Google a major victory. (Editing by Pravin Char) 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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