EU: Google defends itself against News Corp complaint

Google has made a rare public statement defending its business practices following reports that the European Commission would demand more concessions from the company to end an antitrust probe, say reports.

Rachel Whetstone, a Google spokesperson, wrote a blog post this week addressing News Corp’s recent complaint filed to the EU against Google. News Corp accused the search giant of being “willing to exploit its dominant market position to stifle competition.”

But in the blog post, addressed to Rupert – in reference to News Corp controller Rupert Murdoch – Google said it is “not the gatekeeper to the web, as some claim,” adding that companies like Amazon, Yelp, Kayak and TripAdvisor all provide significant competition against Google’s search services. Further, Whetstone wrote, those companies see growing profits thanks to Google’s search traffic to the sites.

The Commission’s competition chief recently announced that he would order further concessions from Google, backtracking from earlier agreements to accept a settlement from the company. The case will now continue and be handed down to Almunia’s successor, Margrethe Vestager. Google is reportedly working on a revised offer to settle the matter.

Full content: Businessweek

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.