EU will probe Google

WHILE INTERNET SEARCH GIANT Google is getting accolades for standing up to the Chinese, it is about to be probed rigorously in Europe.

Blighty price comparison website Foundem's chief executive Shivaun Raff said he is confident that EU antitrust regulators will launch a formal probe into Google's business practices soon. Foundem is one of three companies that have been moaning about Google's policies.

Raff told Reuters in an interview that he has evidence that Google has been penalising it for three and a half years, which led to the website's demotion in Google's search results.

He wants more transparency about the criteria and rationale for penalties and for Google to introduce a more effective, transparent appeals process. Google granted Foundem immunity from its search penalty in December of last year.

Adam Raff, Foundem's chief technology officer and co-founder, said regulators should also look into Google's expansion into other markets. He said that Google is using its dominance in search to expand its reach.

Foundem has been accused of being a Microsoft sock puppet because it is being assisted by Microsoft-sponsored lobbying group ICOMP. However Adam Raff said that Foundem has never received any money from Microsoft and the US software company is not a shareholder.

It is not clear why the Raffs are so certain that they have EU Commission support, although the Europeans have been a little less kind to Google than US regulators. µ