The European Commission has opened a research procedure on Google by abuse of dominant position in the market. The decision comes nine months after Foundem, the British price comparison site, and the legal French search engine ejustice. fr claimed that Google’s search algorithm lowered their sites in the search results of the web because they were Google rivals.
The weight, diversification and geographical extension of Google’s services and business in Internet have made this multinational become into an actual giant of the cyberspace.
It is fair recognizing Google’s huge contribution in the field of the IT sector. Google, together with other large companies, has always been at the forefront of the research and development related to many initiatives and applications. Once developed the company has made these tools available for the Internet surfers at a global scale.
The latest initiative by this company is Google Editions, which will commercialise e-books and is sheduled to be launched by the end of thissame year or in early 2011.
It is said that excess in power can generate abuses and abuses happen in some cases. Excess in power can also become an actual seed of many problems also for the one who holds the power position. Few months ago Google had some troubles with the Chinese Authorities. The US tech giant had to move searches to Hong Kong, because Google has refused to filter the search results of the users located in Mainland China.
Google, as usually happens to many huge power holders, has many friends but also thousands of enemies.
Google tries to defend itself against the accusations that have led to the opening of the investigation by the European Commission, sheltering behind the algorithm. It is the algorithm what decides the place (more, less or not priviledged at all) where they appear the enterprises, institutions, information, materials, etc. related to the search keyword typed by the user in Google’s search case.
¿Angel or demon?
Being investigated, or falling under suspicion, is not the same as being guilty or fined by behavior against free and fair competition law. This has been underscored by the Spanish EU Commissioner Joaquin Almunia. Therefore we must wait and see which is the final resolution of the European Authorities in this case.
Fines for Google, if found guilty, could be more than substantial. Fines imposed by the Commission may well reach a 10% of the global revenues earned by the company. Just remember the €1.06Bn penalty imposed by the EU Commission to Intel by abuse of its dominant position in the market. That of Intel’s case is the highest ever imposed in the European Union till today.
Image over the headline.- © Google
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