Reuters: Technology News: EU regulator intensifies scrutiny of Google search results

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EU regulator intensifies scrutiny of Google search results Jul 30th 2013, 18:12 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Exclusive: EU to clear US Airways, American $11 billion merger - sources Mon, Jul 29 2013 Google gets deeper into hardware with new tablet, TV gadget Wed, Jul 24 2013 Falling ad rates, Motorola losses dent Google results Thu, Jul 18 2013 EU demands more concessions from Google to settle case Wed, Jul 17 2013 EU to clear Baxter's $4 billion buy of Sweden's Gambro: sources Wed, Jul 10 2013 Analysis & Opinion Google shows hints of life like a newspaper Baidu deal shows pain of being China tech upstart The Google signage is seen at the company's headquarters in New York January 8, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Andrew Kelly By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS | Tue Jul 30, 2013 1:33pm EDT BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators sharpened their scrutiny of how Google ranks its web search results, asking rivals whether their lower rankings affected the number of visitors to their sites, a European Commission questionnaire showed. The two-page document seen by Reuters came after the EU competition authority demanded more concessions from the world's most popular search engine earlier this month to allay concerns that it blocks competitors in search results. European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said Google's offer earlier this year to label its own products in search results, provide links to at least three rival sites and make it easier for advertisers to move to rival platforms was not enough. His comments echoed those of Google's complainants, such as British price comparison site Foundem, a group of German publishers and online travel site Expedia, which said the concessions could reinforce Google's dominance. The list of six questions focused on the last two and a half years, as EU regulators sought evidence of any possible link between the complainants' lower rankings in Google search results and lower traffic to their sites. "In the period from January 2011 to June 2013, have you ever noticed a decrease in the number of users reaching your vertical search sites via Google's natural search, which cannot be explained by a change in your web site?" the questionnaire asked. "Did it coincide with a significant change in the ranking of the pages of your web site in Google's natural search results?" Respondents were given until August 16 to reply to the questionnaire. Google, which has more than 80 percent of the European search market, could not be immediately reached for comment. It could face a fine as much as $5 billion if it does not resolve the issue. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Claire Davenport and Louise Heavens) 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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