Foundem Officially Brings Suit Against Google
January 23, 2013
That pesky Foundem, unlike the US regulatory agencies, just won’t go away. eWeek reports on a new lawsuit in “Google Being Sued in UK for Bias in Search Results.” The British shopping-comparison site Foundem has been challenging Google since 2010, when it helped spur an antitrust investigation by the European Union. Now, it seems the company is making good in its promise to take its fight to the courts, according to a story from Bloomberg.
This development is bubbling just as Google has reached an accord with the US Federal Trade Commission. Writer Todd R. Weiss reports:
“The FTC ruled that not enough evidence existed to prove allegations from some competitors that Google had manipulated its search algorithms to harm competing Websites and unfairly promote its own competing vertical properties. Instead, the company entered into a voluntary agreement with the FTC to change some of its other business practices. . . .
“The search company voluntarily will end some past business practices that could stifle competition in the markets for popular devices such as smartphones, tablets and gaming consoles, as well as the market for online search advertising, according to the agency. Under a binding settlement with the FTC, Google will allow competitors access ‘on fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory terms to patents on critical standardized technologies needed to make popular devices such as smartphones, laptop and tablet computers, and gaming consoles,’ the FTC reported.”
Google has agreed not to seek court injunctions to block the use of such “standards-essential patents,” many of which came from its acquisition of Motorola Mobility last year. Last July, the FTC also resolved charges that Google actively bypassed Apple Safari browser privacy settings with a $22.5 million settlement .
Meanwhile, Foundem is not the only European company bringing antitrust action against Google. So far, the EU seems to be taking a tougher stance against the company than US regulators have. Will Google be able to wriggle a compromise out of this one?
Cynthia Murrell, January 23, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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