Google in Deal to Settle Europe’s Antitrust Case

Google escaped serious antitrust action in the United States early this year, and in April it dodged a hefty penalty in Europe. The third piece of good fortune — from Google’s standpoint, at least — came on Oct 1.

The European Union’s antitrust chief, Joaquín Almunia, announced that in his inquiry into Google’s search practices, he had tentatively reached a deal he could live with — one requiring Google to give higher visibility to competitors’ listings on Web search queries. After the company’s rivals comment on the settlement, Almunia said, he intends to have the final deal in place by next spring. The European deal would go much further than a settlement early this year with the Federal Trade Commission, which required only minor concessions from Google. It would also allow Google to avoid a potential fine of up to $5 billion and a finding of wrongdoing that could limit its future activities. And yet, the deal with Almunia would come nearly four years after he opened his case. During that time the company’s business model — and all its various ways of making its billions of dollars — changed considerably. To some experts, that suggests that Google could end up winning a protracted waiting game.