european commission

The Federal Trade Commission may bring its two-year antitrust investigation of Google to a close by allowing the company to make voluntary changes to its search business, according to a report.

The search giant is said to be readying an announcement about changes to its use of "snippets," bits of text culled from sites such as Yelp and TripAdvisor and displayed in search results, Politico reports, citing unnamed sources. Yelp and others had charged Google with using their content without permission.

Google will also make tweaks that will allow for easier porting of search-ad campaigns from Google to … Read more

The European Union's executive arm confirmed today that Apple and four e-book publishers have offered up a settlement deal on e-book price-setting that could be approved in the coming months.

According to the European Commission, Apple, Harper Collins, Hachette Livre, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster (which is owned by CBS, the same company that publishes CNET) have agreed to terminate e-book agency pricing contracts and allow retailers to set their own prices on titles for a period of two years.

The proposed deal, which the EC did not offer an opinion on, will now be open to public comment, … Read more

Google has updated its list of concessions as part of efforts to settle an ongoing EU antitrust probe into its business practices, a newspaper report said.

The search behemoth was put under the European antitrust spotlight in 2010 after rivals launched allegations of anti-competitive behavior.

A report by the Financial Times of London says EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia recently spoke to Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt to seek clarification on a number of points made in the search giant's initial settlement offer, first submitted just over two weeks ago.

The initial letter sent by Schmidt to Almunia addressed … Read more

Google has been given an ultimatum by the European Commission: straighten up or we'll take you to court.

The search giant has been under the microscope of the EC over complaints that it has stifled competition in the search market by favoring its own businesses. Several companies have alleged that Google purposely tweaks its search results so that its own sites appear before those of potential rivals.

Until now, the EC been in no rush to launch formal charges against Google. But now the war of words has been ramped up a few notches.

Joaquin Almunia, the European Commission'… Read more

EU regulators are looking into competition concerns surrounding a joint venture in mobile payments by Everything Everywhere, Vodafone and O2.

The UK's biggest cellular operators said in June that they were creating a clearing house for mobile payments, which would act as an intermediary between advertisers, banks and retailers. However, Three complained to the European Commission that it had been shut out of the deal.

Although the commission did not cite Three's complaint, it did say in its announcement of the investigation late on Friday that there are "potential competition concerns in the nascent markets of mobile … Read more

The European Commission today opened two formal antitrust investigations against Motorola Mobilty to determine if the company has breached its promise to offer fair patent licensing.

The Commission is specifically aiming to see if Motorola used its patents to hurt competition in violation of European Union antitrust laws.

The investigation is based largely on complaints from Apple and Microsoft, which have alleged that Motorola's licensing arrangements are not in accordance with FRAND, or "fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory," terms. Motorola had previously pledged to the EU that it would honor such terms.

The EC's probe will also … Read more

Motorola Mobility may find itself the target of an EU investigation over complaints about its patent licensing.

In a recent Washington, D.C., speech, EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia specifically cited patent concerns over Motorola, lumping it in the same regulatory hot seat as Samsung.

"We have recently opened an investigation against Samsung to make sure that the company has not failed to honor the commitments it had taken back in 1998 to make its standard-essential patents for mobile phones available in fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms," Almunia said in the speech. "We have also received similar … Read more

The five largest European carriers could face an antitrust inquiry for meetings they've allegedly held since 2010.

The Financial Times, citing sources, reported that Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, and Vodafone have been holding so-called "E5" meetings since 2010 to discuss a host of issues they face. Financial Times' sources say that the company's top executives discussed everything from Apple and Google to mobile payments.

Those meetings have apparently not gone unnoticed in Brussels, where the European Commission confirmed to CNET today that it has "requested information" from the carriers, as well … Read more

There seems to be a difference of opinion over whether Microsoft recently complained to European Union regulators about Google+.

Reuters is reporting, citing two sources, that Microsoft informally complained to the European Union's European Commission about Google's social network. The sources wouldn't divulge what Microsoft said nor whether the company will file a formal complaint with the commission. Microsoft was reportedly flanked by "several" other companies that have taken issue with Google+.

However, in a statement to CNET sister site ZDNet, Microsoft said that it did not, in fact, file a complaint with the European Commission against Google+. … Read more