Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Google Inc. submitted an offer to European Union regulators in a bid to settle a probe into whether the world’s largest search engine operator discriminates against rivals, the EU’s antitrust chief said.
“It has arrived,” EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told reporters in Brussels today. He said his officials would now study the proposal.Almunia had asked Google to submit concessions by the end of January to address allegations that the company promotes its own specialist search-services, copies rivals’ travel and restaurant reviews, and has agreements with websites and software developers that stifle competition in the advertising industry. He first told Google in May that he wanted to settle the case.
Almunia has said regulators would assess the offer before deciding whether to send it to rivals and customers for comments. If this market test is successful, the EU can make the settlement legally binding. A settlement would avoid possible fines against the Mountain View, California-based company.
Google continues “to work co-operatively with the commission,” Brussels-based spokesman Al Verney said in an e- mailed statement.
The U.S. ended an investigation into Google’s search business last month, saying there was no evidence that the company’s actions harmed consumers. Google also agreed to lift court injunctions for patents it inherited from Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. when it acquired the company last year to settle allegations that it violated agreements to license key technology to rivals.
Patent Probes
The EU is continuing to investigate Google over Motorola Mobility’s use of injunctions, saying the situation in Europe “is not the same” as in the U.S.
Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. have complained to the EU about the company’s use of legal actions to seek sales bans of their products. Regulators are also probing Google’s Android operating system for mobile phones and tablets.
In 2010, the EU began investigating claims Google discriminated against other services in its search results and stopped some websites from accepting competitors’ ads. While Microsoft and partner Yahoo! Inc. have about a quarter of the U.S. Web-search market, Google has almost 95 percent of the traffic in Europe, Microsoft said in a blog post in 2011, citing data from regulators.
“It has arrived,” EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told reporters in Brussels today. He said his officials would now study the proposal.Almunia had asked Google to submit concessions by the end of January to address allegations that the company promotes its own specialist search-services, copies rivals’ travel and restaurant reviews, and has agreements with websites and software developers that stifle competition in the advertising industry. He first told Google in May that he wanted to settle the case.
Almunia has said regulators would assess the offer before deciding whether to send it to rivals and customers for comments. If this market test is successful, the EU can make the settlement legally binding. A settlement would avoid possible fines against the Mountain View, California-based company.
Google continues “to work co-operatively with the commission,” Brussels-based spokesman Al Verney said in an e- mailed statement.
The U.S. ended an investigation into Google’s search business last month, saying there was no evidence that the company’s actions harmed consumers. Google also agreed to lift court injunctions for patents it inherited from Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. when it acquired the company last year to settle allegations that it violated agreements to license key technology to rivals.
Patent Probes
The EU is continuing to investigate Google over Motorola Mobility’s use of injunctions, saying the situation in Europe “is not the same” as in the U.S.
Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. have complained to the EU about the company’s use of legal actions to seek sales bans of their products. Regulators are also probing Google’s Android operating system for mobile phones and tablets.
In 2010, the EU began investigating claims Google discriminated against other services in its search results and stopped some websites from accepting competitors’ ads. While Microsoft and partner Yahoo! Inc. have about a quarter of the U.S. Web-search market, Google has almost 95 percent of the traffic in Europe, Microsoft said in a blog post in 2011, citing data from regulators.
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