EU: Getty Images files antitrust complaint against Google

Photo agency Getty Images has filed a formal complaint with the European commission against Google over its alleged abuse of the company’s search dominance.

Google is accused of distorting search results in favour of its own services, including Google Images, Shopping, Maps and several others, affecting competitors from media companies such as Getty to travel sites and price comparison companies.

Getty’s latest complaint, following its registration as an “interested third person” in June, revolves around Google Image search, which displays images from across the internet in response to picture or word search terms.

The image company’s complaint specifically calls out changes made to Google’s Image search in 2013, which it says created “captivating galleries of high-resolution, copyrighted content” and “promoted piracy, resulting in widespread copyright infringement”.

“Because image consumption is immediate, once an image is displayed in high-resolution, large format, there is little impetus to view the image on the original source site. These changes have allowed Google to reinforce its role as the internet’s dominant search engine, maintaining monopoly over site traffic, engagement data and advertising spend,” Getty said.

Full Content: The Wall Street Journal

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