EU to seek more Google concessions in competition probe
(Reuters) - EU regulators are likely to press Google Inc for more concessions to end a three-year investigation into complaints it squeezed out Web rivals, the EU antitrust chief said. — EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia …
Context & Ripple Effects
Brussels has been circling Google's search practices since complaints from web rivals opened the file three years ago, and in September 2012 the EU warned Google it faced formal antitrust proceedings unless it offered remedies. What has changed is Commissioner Joaquin Almunia's public framing: rather than escalate or close the case, he signaled the settlement track stays open but at a higher price.
The breadth of same-day pickup — Reuters' story ran across GigaOM, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, CNET and four other outlets — reflects how much rides on the outcome: any remedies Almunia accepts will govern how Google presents its own services against rivals in European results, without ever going to a ruling.
First-order effects
- Google must go back with an improved package of commitments or risk Almunia converting the three-year inquiry into formal proceedings, which carry fines and years of litigation.
- The rivals whose complaints keep the case open gain negotiating leverage every time Brussels rejects or demands more than what Google has put on the table.
Second-order effects
- A negotiated remedy would set de facto conduct rules for Google's entire European search business — competitors can shape those terms through the complaint channel instead of winning them in court.
- Other dominant platforms facing EU scrutiny now see that Brussels will hold out for deeper concessions, raising the expected cost of settling there relative to other jurisdictions.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, EU competition enforcement settles into a regime of regulator-brokered behavioral commitments for dominant internet platforms — a structure that lets enforcers rewrite market leaders' practices case by case without formal rulings, and invites repeated re-opening when remedies fall short.
The trend: EU antitrust enforcement against dominant platforms is shifting from courtroom confrontation toward negotiated concessions, with Almunia's escalating demands establishing how high a settlement price Brussels will set.