The European Commission announced that it had accepted new proposals submitted by Google, which had been accused by its competitors of abusing its position, thus paving the way for an "amicable" settlement of the case that had been under investigation since 2010.
"I believe that Google's new proposal, after long and difficult talks, can resolve the competition problems," said Competition Commissioner Joaquín Almunia at a press conference in Brussels, allaying the Commission's concerns.
It is worth noting that in mid-January, Almunia had called on Google to submit new proposals soon, threatening it with fines that could reach up to 10% of its total turnover, i.e. around 4 billion euros.
The 14 companies that had filed complaints against Google will have to make their own position known before the Commission takes its final decision on the matter.
The companies accused Google of promoting its own services at the expense of other specialized search engines, for example websites specializing in travel topics, such as Expedia and lastminute.com.
In its latest proposal, the US company agrees to ensure that when it offers its own services on its pages, for example for restaurants, hotels or consumer products, it will also offer the services of three of its competitors, selected on the basis of objective criteria. The competing services will be presented clearly to users, in a manner similar to the way Google presents its own services, the Commission explained.
In fact, an independent organization will be responsible for verifying whether Google is meeting its commitments.
"Without preventing Google from showcasing its own services, the user will be given the opportunity to choose between competing services that will be presented in a similar way. Users will choose the best alternative," said Mr. Almunia.
Google's proposal covers only the European area and will be valid for five years. If finally accepted, the company will avoid sanctions and fines, amounting to several billion dollars, that could be imposed on it, while also closing the investigation that began in November 2010.
In its statement, Google emphasizes that it hopes to close the issue soon. "We will be making significant changes to the way Google operates in Europe. We are working with the European Commission to resolve the issues that have been raised," noted the company's General Counsel, Mr. Kent Walker.
The company also pledges not to impose exclusivity terms on its advertising agreements, which means advertisers will be able to more easily transfer their activity to other, competing sites, such as Yahoo!
News Room "Profit" with information from the APE - AMU
