Yesterday we talked about Microsoft being pulled up by the EC, well today its Google’s turn. It seems that the commission has finally pulled in Google over allegations of anti-competitive behaviour. For a long time now companies have taken issue with the shadowy methods through which Google determine the importance of businesses and websites and with a company of Google’s size and dominance it was only a matter of time before they were seriously brought to question.
The investigation was apparently sparked by three businesses who claim to have been unfairly pushed to the wrong side of Google’s screening process. Foundem, eJustice and Ciao (the price comparison site now owned by Microsoft) all took issue with Google. In each case the issue was with the algorithmic method through which Google determines the value and relevance of a site. Foundem’s issues started back in 2006 when for reasons beyond their comprehension they suddenly disappeared from Google’s search rankings for their categories. Furthermore, adding insult to injury, this had a knock on effect to their Adwords campaign.
While there were differences to each company’s issues they all centred on the one key factor. ‘Whether Google is doing anything to intentionally choke off competition’. Each of these sites has their roots in similar search methods with Ciao and Foundem both offering a price comparison service parallel to that of Google Shopping. The focus of all the major complaints and issues all stem from the reliability of Google’s ranking algorithm.
The algorithm was developed in order to determine the relevance and value of sites to users searches and list them accordingly. However, very little is known about the details of this algorithm which is tweaked regularly and as such many are sceptical of whether it is not tailored to suit Google’s personal interests.
In response a Google spokes person stated:
“We work hard to put our users' interests first and to compete fair and square in the market. We believe our business practices reflect those commitments.”
Either way, the issue was bound to come to prominence as a company which gains the monopoly of its respective industry that Google has will eventually come under scrutiny over potentially anti-competitive behaviour. With other issues coming from Google’s standard practice of ploughing money into new internet services to beat the competition (i.e. chrome browser and buzz) it remains to be seen how the EC will respond. Furthermore, what other companies could come out of the woodwork with issues of their own?
Put this in comparison with Microsoft’s regulation problems spanning 15 years and it begins to come into focus that there could be troubles ahead for Google.
As ever we want to know what you think on recent issues. Whether you’re all for Google’s methods or you think their monopoly has gone too far, let us know.
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