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back to article SMACK! EU set to hit Google with 'abuse of dominance' rap

EU digi-chief Gunther H-dot Oettinger poured fuel on rumours that the European Commission will haul Google over the coals with antitrust charges this week - and now it's happened. Backing up comments he made to a German weekly newspaper on Sunday, H-dot Oetti said: “We have to look more critically at the market position and …

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  1. swschrad

    well, heck, just block EU both ways

    problem solved. let them drop off the Internet map and settle their little whine.

    1 11 Reply
    1. fruitoftheloon
      Reply Icon
      IT Angle

      @swshchrad: Re: well, heck, just block EU both ways

      Hi,

      Would you be so kind as to expand your statement into a cohesive sentence please?

      Ta!

      J

      9 1 Reply
  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Huh?

    The web version of The Yellow Pages can't give better advertising spots to other of their own services? Okay....Search is the new common carrier.

    0 4 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Huh?

      But should they be completely blocking competing services from appearing in their search results?

      0 0 Reply
    2. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Stop

      Re: Huh?

      And Microsoft gave it's browser and "standards" dominance on it's desktop and made it hard for others to compete. What was the issue there?

      2 0 Reply
  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    reading Google's response

    They have some very valid points why this is a crock of crap..

    0 5 Reply
    1. AndyS
      Reply Icon

      Re: reading Google's response

      Dear anonymous internet stranger,

      Since you don't either expand on these here, or provide a link, or even state what these valid points might be, I'm going to entirely disregard your comment.

      Yours etc.

      11 0 Reply
  4. Jim 59

    So the EU is actually accusing somebody of "abuse of dominance" with a straight face.

    You couldn't make it up.

    1 1 Reply
  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hope this gets sorted

    I don't really want to have to use Bing or Yahoo! search engines...

    2 0 Reply
    1. Joey M0usepad Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: Hope this gets sorted

      whats the worst that could happen? google pulls its servers out of EU and you have to go to america (or africa) so your search takes 1 second longer

      0 1 Reply
    2. Syntax Error
      Reply Icon

      Re: Hope this gets sorted

      It would be a very good opportunity for new European search engines to develop. Block Google for say 12 months would be very good in the long term.

      1 1 Reply
  6. Alan Denman

    what is the charge ?

    Oh, yes, it is the fact that their links are useful thus blocking the more useless links.

    Just make them pay their taxes !

    2 0 Reply
  7. RealBigAl

    Please let him deliver the decision in the form of a rap.

    0 0 Reply
  8. Rich 2 Silver badge

    Not the problem

    I've never had a problem with a company pushing is own products - that's what they're in business for. MS got accused of doing it and most of the major net companies do the same. And why not?

    I think a much more important issue is goggle's cavalier attitude to privacy, ownership of content and general we-are-above-the-law attitude.

    And along with Fartbook and Twaddle, the way it is (has) become completely engrained in daily life whether you want it or not.

    1 0 Reply
  9. Jim 59

    Companies "pushing their own products" is good, and is in everyone's interest, until it gets to a certain point of overarching dominance. After that, the company uses its own position to remove competition from the market, and is no longer in everyone's interest.

    Cf What MS did to Netscape - result - no browser progress in 10 years.

    Cf What Google does to Yahoo - no search engine progress in 10 years?

    1 0 Reply

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