Further competition complaint against Google

This was announced by the Internet search engine specialist on Tuesday. The EU Commission had already initiated an investigation against Google at the end of November. Europe's competition watchdogs are investigating whether the IT giant has manipulated results in online searches and put competitors at a disadvantage. If the allegations are substantiated, the company could face a heavy fine. There is no deadline for the conclusion of the proceedings.

1plusV develops specialized search engines, including Ejustice.fr (culture) and Eguides.fr (culture). The company accuses Google of blocking the development of such vertical search engines, which focus on specific subject areas. If competitors wanted to use Google's advertising system, they would be forced to use exclusively its software, 1plusV explained.

Ejustice had already complained last year - as a result, Google downgraded links to thousands of websites through Ejustice, according to 1plusV. "For Ejustice.fr, the consequences for access were catastrophic and long-lasting," the company wrote.

EU Commission examines several complaints

The EU Commission has already received a total of four complaints from Google competitors who feel they have been disadvantaged. At the beginning of February, the British price comparison website Foundem, the judicial search engine ejustice.fr and the German consumer portal Ciao, which belongs to Microsoft, made representations.

If the Commission comes to the conclusion that Google is abusing its dominant position in the search engine sector or in online advertising, the Group could face substantial fines. At most, these could amount to several billion dollars. It is still completely unclear when the Commission will make a decision.

Globally, Google is in the lead and has about 85 percent market share in search queries, in Germany and Europe even more than 90 percent. (SDA)

EU: Antitrust investigation against Google