Antitrust Investigation Against Google

 

Introduction “Timeline: Google vs. the regulators”
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies with over 23,000 employees and revenue of US$ 23.651 billion (2009). The company's stated mission from the outset was "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful”. The decision by the European Commission to launch a full investigation into Google after allegations by smaller search providers of market abuse underlines regulators’ growing interest in the increasingly powerful company. Here is a timeline of European, US, and other regulators’ recent dealings with the Internet giant: (FT.com, 2010) July 2007: The Australian competition regulator takes Google to court over alleged misleading and deceptive conduct in relation to sponsored links on the search engine’s website. The case is thought to be the first trading standards lawsuit against Google. March 2008: The European Union joins US regulators in clearing Google’s $3.1bn deal to acquire DoubleClick, which sets the stage for the search giant’s push into the broader online advertising market. February 2009: The European Commission sets up a preliminary review over complaints that Google allegedly manually adjusted algorithmic search results when paying customers complained. September 2009: The German government becomes the first non-US administration to ask a US court to block a deal between Google and US authors and publishers granting web access to old books, saying it will “irrevocably” weaken global copyright law. February 2010: US and European antitrust regulators approve an internet search alliance between Microsoft and Yahoo in a decision that backs the view of many big advertisers that the combination would give kingpin Google more competition. February 2010: The European Commission says it has contacted Google about three complaints regarding the US internet company’s search...