Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Google Under Investigation



Today, the European Union (EU) announced an investigation towards Google about abusing the rules of the EU relating to online search. Specifically, the spokesperson claimed that due to Google's monopoly over the search industry, that they had a biased view against European users, and tended to favor their own products. This investigation does not imply that there is any proof to these allegations, and Google chose to cooperate with the EU in this investigation. A Google spokesperson announced that "But there's always going to be room for improvement, and so we'll be working with the Commission to address any concerns". A commission was formed to lead the investigation, saying that it will focus on whether Google lowers the ranking of unpaid ads, and raises the level of paid ones. Additionally, they claim that Google lowered the quality score of unpaid ads, forcing them to be displayed even lower than before, along with adding a better score to the paying users. Finally, they intend to investigate whether or not Google discriminates against a site based on the advertisements present. Specifically, that Google will force one company with the same content as another company, to pay more because they are running a specific add from say, a rival search engine, or a company that Google doesn't approve of. The time this check up on Google will take is unknown, as the Commission said that they will make this "probe" last as long as necessary to ensure that Google conforms to the regulations of the EU.

--Karl J.

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