European Union regulators are looking into Google’s business practices to see if their model has not forced many search engines out of business by using their dominant position in the market. Reports alleged that the company purposely put their rival websites lower in their search engine results to drive down traffic to those sites, including companies owned by Microsoft. Competitors claim that Google always puts it’s own sponsored links higher on searches (like Google Maps), and they have prevented advertisers from placing their ads on rival websites. (More on Time.com: Google To Purchase Miramax for YouTube Streaming?)
Some people are arguing that Google has the right to program their website any way they want, and if they promote their own websites, even the less popular ones, it should be their right. Ohers point out that the company may be overreaching its power and not making the search engine market fair by selecting which results are more “popular.” That would make Google in violation of anti-trust laws by preventing other competing sources from working at their best capabilities, stifling hteir competition. In an issued statement, the company said, “Since we started Google we have worked hard to do the right thing by our users and our industry – ensuring that ads are always clearly marked, making it easy for users and advertisers to take their data with them when they switch services, and investing heavily in open source projects. But there’s always going to be room for improvement, and so we’ll be working with the Commission to address any concerns,” the company said.
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