BRUSSELS - Google is ready to change the way it displays online search results as part of a settlement with European Union authorities, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.
The settlement would allow Google to avoid a fine, which could theoretically equal up to 10% of its global turnover.
The European Commission has been probing Google's practices since November 2010, after competitors - including Microsoft - complained about the US company's dominance on the internet search market.
Google is now willing to display "prominent links to rival search engines" in its results, as well as "clearer signposts for its own in-house services", the Financial Times wrote, quoting people familiar with the proposed settlement.
The agreement would be legally binding for five years, with a trustee checking that Google is complying, the newspaper said.
Earlier this year, Google reached a settlement with US regulators who had concerns that the company unfairly skewed its search results.
It pledged to change some business practices, but the agreement with the EU would go further, the Financial Times said.
The complainants in the EU case now have the right to weigh in on the deal before it is finalised.
But Google also faces challenges on another front: the FairSearch.org alliance this week filed a new complaint with the European Commission alleging that the company had an "anti-competitive strategy to dominate the mobile marketplace" with its Android smartphone operating system.
Google has more than 32,000 employees and annual revenues of nearly $38 billion.
Share this article
Bangkok Post online classifieds
Try buying selling goods and properties 24/7 in our classifieds which has high purchasing power local expatriate audience from within Thailand and around the world.
Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2013/04/15/google-ready-to-settle-with-eu/
0 comments:
Post a Comment