EU: Commission plays hardball with Google, Samsung

Google Inc. has reportedly submitted new concessions to the European Commission in hopes to end the watchdog’s investigation into the company over allegations of abuse of dominance in the way it presents its search engine results.

The Commission announced the new proposal submission Monday, two months after the original offer by Google was rejected by regulators. A spokesperson for the Commission said they are “analyzing it carefully,” and that the body would “move toward a solution in the coming months” should the proposal suffice to end the investigation

According to reports, Google’s concessions have centered on changing the way its search results are displayed, a topic of controversy for the Commission, which is looking into Google for reportedly favoring its own services in top search results.

Google settled similar complaints with US watchdogs last January, though the US Federal Trade Commission did not require major overhauls to the way Google presents its search results.

Samsung’s turn

In an unrelated case, the Commission ordered Korea-based tech firm Samsung to revise its offered concessions to end the Commission’s probe into the company’s use of standard-essential patent lawsuits against rival Apple Inc.

Samsung has sued Apple in several countries in 2011 regarding Apple’s use of Samsung patents, deemed “standard-essential” as the patents are necessary to the device.

The particular patents involved interoperability between different mobile devices. The Commission is scrutinizing Samsung over the lawsuits’ anticompetitiveness to the market.

The Commission declined to offer details on both Google’s latest concessions offer as well as Samsung’s.

Full Content: ABC News and Reuters

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