This year is turning into an annus horribilis for Google. First the search giant attracted almost universal opprobrium and a tonne of legal headaches when it accidentally recorded personal data from unprotected wireless networks in various countries. Then some much-hyped new services flopped, in particular Google Wave (see article). Now it faces a formal investigation by the European Union into allegations that it has broken antitrust rules by abusing its dominant position in the online-search business to stifle competition.The European Commission, which announced the investigation on November 30th, says it will look into several issues. One is whether Google has manipulated the algorithms that underpin its search engine in order to penalise links to competitors in search rankings. Another is whether it has tried to impose agreements on websites that prevent them from running ads that compete with those delivered by Google.
http://www.economist.com/node/17629823?story_id=17629823
Google and antitrust: The European Union is right to take a closer look at Google
This year is turning into an annus horribilis for Google. First the search giant attracted almost universal opprobrium and a tonne of legal headaches when it accidentally recorded personal data from unprotected wireless networks in various countries. Then some much-hyped new services flopped, in particular Google Wave (see article). Now it faces a formal investigation by the European Union into allegations that it has broken antitrust rules by abusing its dominant position in the online-search business to stifle competition.