The EU seeks feedback from competitors on Google’s antitrust bid

Author: Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU regulators will look to Google’s competitors and other third parties on Monday before deciding whether to accept the online search giant’s offer to settle a three-year antitrust investigation and avoid possible fines.

In July, rivals rejected Google’s first proposal to allay concerns that it blocked rivals, including Microsoft, from internet search results in Europe, saying it would only strengthen the company’s dominance.

This prompted the European Commission to demand new concessions from Google.

Earlier this month, Google modified its offering to allow competitors to display their logos and make links more visible to users. It will also enable advertisers to export their advertising campaigns to other platforms.

It also agreed to appoint an independent representative who will monitor this process.

“The Commission is sending requests for information today,” Antoine Colombani, the commission’s spokesman for competition policy, said in an email.

“Information is requested in particular from complainants in the ongoing proceedings and from all persons who responded to the initial market test of Google’s proposals launched by the Commission in April,” he said.

Google’s complainants include online mapping services such as Germany’s Hotmaps and Britain’s Streetmap, the UK’s price comparison site Foundem, a group of German and Spanish publishers, and online travel sites such as Expedia.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, editing by Adrian Croft; +32 2 287 6844) (Reuters Messaging: [email protected])