U.S. Federal Trade Commission Investigation of Google Search (2013)
Forthcoming, The Antitrust Revolution, John E. Kwoka, Jr. and Lawrence J. White (eds), Oxford University Press, 7th Edition
25 Pages Posted: 13 Jun 2017 Last revised: 10 Nov 2017
Date Written: November 9, 2017
Abstract
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission opened an investigation into Google’s search practices in 2012. The investigation responded to complaints that Google’s “Universal Search” display favored its own web properties and demoted competing services. The Commission also investigated Google’s “scraping” of websites to obtain data for its proprietary properties and an allegation that Google prevented third parties from porting programs developed for Google “AdWords” keyword advertising to other search platforms. The Commission ended its investigation in 2013 with no action regarding alleged search bias. The Commission accepted a unilateral commitment from Google to allow websites to opt out of scraping and to amend its conditions to allow porting of AdWords management programs to other platforms. The European Commission reached a different conclusion in its investigation of Google’s search-related practices. This chapter describes the allegations and the factors that should be considered to assess allegations that Google harms competition by favoring services in which it has a financial interest.
Keywords: Internet, search, antitrust, two-sided markets, market power
JEL Classification: L12, L13, L41, L42, L86
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation