European Commission Begins Market Testing Of Commitments Offered By Google To Address Competition Concerns

On 25 April 2013, the Commission issued a press release announcing that it had begun market testing commitments offered by Google in relation to online search and search advertising. In its press release, the Commission stated that it continues to have concerns that Google may be abusing its dominant position in the markets for web search, online search advertising and online search advertising intermediation in the European Economic Area.

The Commission's concerns appear unchanged from previous statements it has made (see, e.g., VBB on Competition Law, Volume 2012, No. 5, available at www.vbb.com). First, the Commission has expressed concerns about the favourable treatment, within Google's web search results, of links to Google's own specialised web search services as compared to links to competing specialised web search services (i.e., services allowing users to search for specific categories of information such as restaurants, hotels or products). Second, the