There are competing expressions when it comes to power.  As has long been said, it’s good to be the king.  However, the other end of that spectrum is the old maxim, heavy is the head that wears the crown.  Google is the undisputed king of online searches, thanks to its brilliant algorithms.  That’s all well and good, but it also makes Google a target for the EU’s antitrust regulators.  EU antitrust investigators have launched a probe into Google’s business practices to ensure they aren’t abusing their dominant market position.

What does this mean for Google?  Well, very little, at least right now.  The EU launched their investigation into Google after “complaints by search service providers about unfavourable treatment of their services in Google’s unpaid and sponsored search results coupled with an alleged preferential placement of Google’s own services.” A company named Foundem believes it is being discriminated against by Google’s search technology; Google maintains that Foundem is a web content duplicator and ranks them lower as a result of that lack of original content.

A business group named ICOMP, which includes Foundem and several other complainants, is behind the investigation of Google both here and in the EU.  Said ICOMP’s legal adviser, David Wood, “This is not just about search results.  This is about the whole ecosystem of doing business with online content, online advertising companies, and software companies.”

Tags: EU, European Union, Google, Google antitrust probe launched, Google investigated by EU for antitrust law violations, antitrust laws, Google investigated for antitrust violations, abuse of market position, Foundem, Google faces antitrust investigation, online search engine, ICOMP

I’ve never had a problem eating food from a gas station.  Just two weeks ago, I ate a couple of hot dogs purchased from a gas station.  They were delicious.  That’s not the first time I’ve eaten gas station food, and I doubt it will be the last.  There’s nothing like a fun food novelty. […]

Commissioner Roger Goodell gathered 32 NFL owners for one big question.  One of the league’s most wanderlust-stricken franchises is looking to move again.  The Oakland-Los Angeles-Oakland Raiders, tired of gutting it out in a run-down stadium, were once again looking for greener pastures.  Only the Miami Dolphins refused to cooperate.  With a vote of 31-1, […]

In 2006, an injury to Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe opened the door for an undrafted free agent by the name of Tony Romo to take the helm of America’s Team and lead the Dallas Cowboys to an early playoff exit.  Bledsoe went from starter to afterthought in a season.  Now, the circle continues […]

For 89 years, Oscars has never had a major mistake.  The last few Oscars might have had a few flubs, but at least they never got the most important category of the night wrong.  Well, that’s now changed, all thanks to OG Bonnie and Clyde legends Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.  When Faye Dunaway called […]

Tom Brady has been wildly successful, if controversial.  He’s the first quarterback ever to win five Super Bowls and only the second player to do so after Charles Haley.  Unlike Haley, Brady won all his Super Bowls with the same team, the New England Patriots.  The only thing that seems to be able to stop […]

Ben Affleck, no matter what you might think of him, is a talented actor and director.  He’s got the goods, but he’s smart enough to know when he’s in over his head.  All along, since he took on the mantle of Batman, he’s had his eyes on writing, directing, and starring as the Caped Crusader. […]

In May, students for the for-profit American College of Education were running into some problems.  Their access to email accounts and course information was locked down by Google, who had disabled their accounts.  The reason why?  A fired IT worker for the American College of Education locked the school out of their Google cloud account. […]