Another shot has been fired across the bow of the Good Ship Google, with Trip Advisor the latest firm to lodge a complaint against the Californian company, according to a BBC report.
The popular destination review site has joined forces with the likes of Expedia, Microsoft and a host of smaller firms.
Each has lodged their own complaint with the EU commission, accusing the search engine of abusing its dominant market position. A decision over whether action will be taken is expected soon.
The details of Trip Advisor’s complaint has not been disclosed, but is likely to relate to the launching of Google Places – a hotel and restaurant review facility.
The very first complaint came from UK vertical search engine Foundem who, back in February 2010, alleged that Google’s algorithms removed certain legitimate sites irrespective of their relevance. It followed similar online discussions by others in the SEO arena.
The allegations also included the more serious complaint that the search engine giant was promoting its own services at the detriment of competitors.
The EU commission said in November 2011 it would investigate the complaints, focussing on whether the algorithms used adversely affected unpaid rankings.
The latest news comes at a time when the search giant is seeing action being taken throughout the world.
In the US, there is a similar market abuse investigation, here in the UK, lawmakers are pressing for algorithm changes to remove sites breaching privacy laws, whilst in Australia it was recently found guilty of hosting deceptive adverts.
Reminiscent of the seemingly constant action that was taken against Microsoft some years ago, it could be a trying period for the popular search engine.
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