Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) recently received a serious warning from the European Union reminding the company it has only a few weeks to settle their high-profile antitrust case.
Google is in trouble
Joaquin Almunia (antitrust chief for the European Union) explained, “I’m waiting for this last opportunity to solve this. We need more, not during the next year, but during the next weeks. I have not yet received this answer.” Almunia also claimed he’s waiting for a response from the search website. Last month he commented that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s proposals were not acceptable.
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) currently has about 90% of market searches in Europe. This is comparable the 70% market share in the United States. However, European-based competitors complained about how the website gives preference to services from their own brands on the top results page. The EU has been investigating the company for three years and Almunia was hoping to have this case solved by spring, however the search giant’s rivals and consumer group advocates ripped Google’s last offer.
The Wall Street Journal added, “Google now has just a few weeks left if it wants to settle the case, meaning it would have to accept legally-binding commitments without implying any wrongdoing. The company couldn’t be immediately reached for comment. It said last month that it had made “significant changes to address [EU] concerns, greatly increasing the visibility of rival services and addressing other specific issues.”
The California tech giant’s main competitors are led by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) as well as European consumer advocate groups.
Google also buys Nest
In other Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) related news, the company is purchasing Nest, the smart thermostat makers, for $3.2 billion. Fans of Nest products are concerned that the company may use the device to gather and sell more information to advertisers. Nest already creates internet-connected thermostats as well as smoke alarms. The search giant still claims they plan on abiding by Nest’s original privacy policy.
