The European Commission is looking for fresh concessions with Google over the way it displays its search results online.
This comes as part of a long-running investigation that is aiming to settle concerns voiced by competitors of the search giant, over claims that it has abused its position as the most dominant within the search market.
The American company currently has a 90% market share.
Disputes have been ongoing since 2010 when rivals, such as Foundem, a British price-comparison website, complained about the ‘anti-competitive’ way that the search company displays its results.
In February this year, a deal was arranged whereby the Californian firm agreed to leave space at the top of its European search pages for competitors to bid to advertise there. This has changed the way in which the search engine – a vital tool in the everyday running of SEO companies – displayed its results. However, rivals are saying that this is unfair, as Google could benefit from extra revenue of up to €300 million.
Joaquin Almunia, the competition commissioner of the case, has said that some complaints have brought new arguments that need consideration. Google’s proposed solutions have all been rejected and it is unlikely for an agreement to be reached until the end of the year, at the earliest. However, if an agreement is not struck, the search enterprise could face a heavy fine.
Google has announced that it has continued to cooperate with the commission, as it would also like to resolve the issue.
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