Google Finally Reaches Settlement With EU Antitrust Regulators

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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The Wall Street Journal reports on a landmark settlement in the high-profile case between Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and EU antitrust regulators. Google has agreed to provide comparable prominence in online search results to services offered by its rivals.

The European Commission began a formal investigation into Google’s dominance in online search in November of 2010. Competitors such as Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) and Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) accused Google of unfairly promoting its own products and services to the detriment of rivals. Google submitted a proposal to remedy those concerns in January of last year, but rivals called that first response “deliberately ludicrous.”

After weeks of last-ditch negotiations, the new deal was struck and announced Wednesday. EU’s antitrust chief, Joaquín Almunia, said:

I believe that the new proposal obtained from Google after long and difficult talks can now address the commission’s concerns. Without preventing Google from improving its own services, it provides users with real choice between competing services presented in a comparable way; it is then up to them to choose the best alternative.

The settlement allows Google to avoid a formal, in-depth probe by EU regulators and a possibly hefty fine.

Google shares were up about 1.6% to 1,152.00 in premarket trading Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $758.50 to $1,186.54.

Photo of Trey Thoelcke
About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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