In europe, Google gets in fresh anti-trust trouble

Despite, or more accurately because of, its huge success in Europe, where it controls some 80 per cent of the internet search market, the American company Google’s European troubles have just got worse.

On Tuesday, French company 1plusV, filed a fresh complaint with the European Commission’s anti-trust watchdog, alleging abuse by Google of its dominant position in the online search market. 1plusV, is the creator of Ejustice.fr, one of the three businesses that had originally filed complaints against Google with the EC last year.

Following those complaints Brussels had opened an in-depth investigation into Google’s business practices, in particular whether or not the company gave preferential treatment to its own services when ranking search results, while discriminating against competitors.

The EC is also investigating the contractual relationship that Google has with advertisers. The complainants claim for example that Google imposes exclusivity obligations and restricts advertisers from moving their data to competing platforms.

Brussels’ anti-trust mandarins are currently examining the data they have gathered from the replies of detailed questionnaires sent out to hundreds of firms which do business with Google. The last official statement the EU made on the matter, in early January, made it clear that the Commission had not reached any conclusions on Google’s conduct yet and was still investigating whether any competition rules had been broken.

Tuesday’s updated complaint by 1plusV claimed that Google refused to allow so-called vertical search sites to use its advertising service. Google pursues “a strategy of foreclosure against vertical search engines,” the company said in a statement. Vertical search engines limit their answers to one category or subject matter, such as travel information. Google on the other hand offers a broad horizontal search that combs all categories available for information.

Google sells advertising linked to search terms and advertising accounted for 96 per cent of its revenue in 2010.

A few days ago, Google spokesman Al Verney had said that the company was continuing to cooperate with the EC in order to address any potential concerns.