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Google making advances in promoted links antitrust case

Jamie Feltham
October 1, 2013

Google has run into a bit of trouble regarding antitrust policies in the EU, regarding the company’s promoted links when using the world-famous search engine.

A case has been held in which the company was pressed to come up with an alternative solution to the feature. Originally Google had come up with a solution that separated those links from native search results, but the EU has again asked the company to try a little bit harder in this regard. Apparently it’s done just that.

Today European competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia revealed that Google had indeed improved upon its original proposal. “We have reached a key moment in this case,” he said to lawmakers in the European Parliament. “Now with the significant improvements on the table I think we have the possibility to work again.”

Details on what the company has actually done to improve its proposals aren’t public right now.

The three-year case initially rose over the notion that Google had be promoting certain clients links while burying their rivals further down in searches. The case has widely been pursued by a group by the name of FairSearch, which includes the likes of Microsoft and Nokia. Apparently a decision on if this new proposal is accepted or not will be made in the spring of next year.

Source: The Verge

About the Author

Jamie Feltham

Videogamer, music listener, squash player, exerciser, technology journalister. Multimedia journalism graduate, writing for the What Mobile mag and website

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