Google (GOOG) Is Under Serious Antitrust Attack
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Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) is expected to be hit with a number of subpoenas soon as Federal regulators launch a broad investigation into the company.
The investigation will be looking to see if the Internet search giant is abusing its power as a somewhat monopoly. The WSJ reports that this civil probe will be the most serious legal threat that the company has faced in its twelve years.
The argument is not whether Google has done anything illegal, but if their business practices and search results are unfair or bias. This new inquiry will also examine the company’s core search advertising business, which is he company's big money maker.
The WSJ notes that this probe could be similar to the Justice Department's landmark lawsuit against Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) in the 1990s.
Antitrust lawyers say that Google is not, or did not do any illegally in becoming the market lead in search results. It is only illegal to acquire a monopoly unlawfully or abuse one, which is going to make it difficult to target Google for prosecution.
Many companies and competitors of Google comment that Google ranks its own services in its "natural" search results unfairly, and that the amount it charges them for to place ads is too high. They claim GOOG's current market power gives them the ability to determine whether businesses succeed or fail.
Competitors such as, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and travel services Expedia Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE), Kayak.com, and Sabre Holdings, report that Google uses other companies content without their permission.
Google currently is responsible for more than 80 percent of the total European web searches; while accounting for around 66 percent of the United States.
In November of 2010, the European Commission opened its own formal investigation into Google on several complaints from other companies that Google had violated European competition laws. The Texas attorney general has also opened a probe.
"Google engages in anticompetitive behavior…that harms consumers by restricting the ability of other companies to compete to put the best products and services in front of Internet users, who should be allowed to pick winners and losers online, not Google," said Fairsearch.org
Google argues that it "built Google for users, not websites, and our goal is to give users answers." They state that there is not only one search engine and that users may and can choose from an abundance of them.
Is it really Google's fault that they have the most accurate and fastest one out there?
The investigation will be looking to see if the Internet search giant is abusing its power as a somewhat monopoly. The WSJ reports that this civil probe will be the most serious legal threat that the company has faced in its twelve years.
The argument is not whether Google has done anything illegal, but if their business practices and search results are unfair or bias. This new inquiry will also examine the company’s core search advertising business, which is he company's big money maker.
The WSJ notes that this probe could be similar to the Justice Department's landmark lawsuit against Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) in the 1990s.
Antitrust lawyers say that Google is not, or did not do any illegally in becoming the market lead in search results. It is only illegal to acquire a monopoly unlawfully or abuse one, which is going to make it difficult to target Google for prosecution.
Many companies and competitors of Google comment that Google ranks its own services in its "natural" search results unfairly, and that the amount it charges them for to place ads is too high. They claim GOOG's current market power gives them the ability to determine whether businesses succeed or fail.
Competitors such as, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and travel services Expedia Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE), Kayak.com, and Sabre Holdings, report that Google uses other companies content without their permission.
Google currently is responsible for more than 80 percent of the total European web searches; while accounting for around 66 percent of the United States.
In November of 2010, the European Commission opened its own formal investigation into Google on several complaints from other companies that Google had violated European competition laws. The Texas attorney general has also opened a probe.
"Google engages in anticompetitive behavior…that harms consumers by restricting the ability of other companies to compete to put the best products and services in front of Internet users, who should be allowed to pick winners and losers online, not Google," said Fairsearch.org
Google argues that it "built Google for users, not websites, and our goal is to give users answers." They state that there is not only one search engine and that users may and can choose from an abundance of them.
Is it really Google's fault that they have the most accurate and fastest one out there?
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