Posted on 07/04/2012 11:40:33 AM PDT by Olog-hai
The European Commission is refusing to be drawn on steps made by Internet search-engine Google to avoid an EU fine of up to €3.8 billion ($4.75 billion) for breaching EU competition rules.
Google issued a statement on Monday (2 July) claiming that it had made proposals to the commission in a letter from executive chairman Eric Schmidt to EU Competition chief Joaquin Almunia.
Almunia had given Google a July deadline to propose reforms to its business practices to avoid full disciplinary sanctions for abusing its 94 percent market share in Europe.
Under EU competition rules, sanctions could include a potential fine of up to 10 percent of Google’s annual turnover of just under €40 billion, comfortably higher than the €1.6 billion fine levied on rival software giant Microsoft.
Google spokesman Al Verney said that the firm, which is also under investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission for allegations of anti-competitive practices, had "made a proposal to address the four areas the European Commission described as potential concerns.”
The most controversial issue at stake surrounds charges that Google is guilty of manipulating search engine results to give unfair preference for its own products. …
(Excerpt) Read more at euobserver.com ...
Sleep with dogs ==> wake up with fleas.
Looks like they got ticks and leeches on top of that, in the bargain.
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