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back to article Almunia faces GRILLING from MEPs over FAILED Google settlement deal

Europe’s competition chief will face tough questions from MEPs next week over his failed attempts to reach an antitrust settlement deal with Google, which fell far short of sanctions being meted out to the ad giant. Joaquin Almunia - who will leave his post by the end of October - said in Florence, Italy, on Friday that Google …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Lets he honest

    Microsoft won't stop prodding their EU paid cronies until Google are forced to host their searches from a single 14.4k modem.

    The reality is, people still wouldn't use Bing....

    Has it really come to the point where companies like Microsoft are allowed to gimp their competitors simply because their own offering is rubbish?

    7 8 Reply
    1. Tom 35
      Reply Icon

      Re: Lets he honest

      Not so much Bing as dedicated search sites like Hotel search, vacation search, price comparison sites...

      If Google have created / bought a Hotel search site and send all the traffic to their own site there is something to complain about.

      But some seem to be bitching that if a general google search that lets someone find a hotel and book a room directly from the hotels own site interferes with their right to sell you the room with the biggest kickback. Who is going to go to my price comparison site (affiliate link farm) when google shows who sells something right in the results?

      This bunch of whiners can go get stuffed.

      But I'm sure Bing would be happy for any pain Google suffers.

      4 4 Reply
      1. ratfox
        Reply Icon
        Alert

        Re: Lets he honest

        The accusations are overblown, but not entirely without foundations. Though the products that Google are pushing are often better or reasonably as good as competitors (Maps, News, Shopping), it sometimes shows reviews from Google+ more prominently that reviews from Yelp. And in that case, I dont feel users are better served.

        3 2 Reply
    2. ecofeco Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: Lets he honest

      "Has it really come to the point where companies like Microsoft are allowed to gimp their competitors simply because their own offering is rubbish?"

      That's been business as usual in the US since day one from the top all the way to small town. Big money uses laws to SPECIFICALLY stifle competition every day.

      7 2 Reply
      1. Anonymous Coward
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        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Lets he honest

        This all sounds like trying to throw dust in the eyes. The point is that Google act as a search engine and give the impression that they return unbiased results. The problem seems to be that the results are a long way from unbiased and thus appear to be illegally stifling competition.

        Whether the current perceived bias currently leads to good services or not doesn't matter, the point is that it's biased unless you pay a bribe, sorry a fee.

        0 0 Reply
  2. Vociferous

    What french service is it hobbling Google is supposed to benefit?

    As title.

    3 1 Reply
  3. Alan Denman

    accusations and accusers

    The main problem here is that the accusers are the competition.

    And with the original monopolist Microsoft being well in the mix, everyone looks super corrupt.

    9 3 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: accusations and accusers

      Actually, the bigger problem is that both the German and French government see Google as an enemy to take down.

      6 1 Reply
  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    anti-competitive behaviour and bias must stop immediately

    this is terrible, as a matter of fair linguistic competition I demand this article be made available in Maltese, Galician, Sardinian and Brummie immediately! I'm going to fine the whole world until this unfairness is addressed!

    Almunia said the first proposal was acceptable, but then it wasn't. So if a taxpayer pays their tax, the government accepts it, and then the taxpayer decides that's not acceptable, the govt then has to accept a revised offer? This is all very confusing ...

    1 0 Reply

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