Is Google Headed for a Microsoft-Size Antitrust Headache?

Google may soon face allegations of anti-competitive behavior in the The States similar to the way Microsoft was examined in the 1990s. The Federal Trade Commission is reportedly considering a "broad antitrust investigating" of Google, according to Bloomberg. Accusations of monopolistic practices have been lobbed at Google for some years, merely directly they are reaching a fever slope succeeding the Continent Delegation's launch of an antitrust investigation of Google in November. Microsoft latterly announced it would bring together the antitrust complaint against Google in Europe.

Courtesy of Hank Aaro Levie. (Chink to zoom)

Antitrust concerns have as wel been raised over the seek giant's plans for expanding Google Books and the troupe's intent to leverage ITA, a flight data aggregation caller. The FTC is reportedly wait connected the Department of Justice to consider possible antitrust implications from Google's ITA batch before launching a broader investigating. The Justice in January was aforesaid to be preparing to file an antitrust challenge against Google, but that threat has yet to happen.

Beyond Search

Google owns about 66 per centum of the U.S. search market, accordant to the latest Numbers from comScore. But Google has moved beyond search to become a dominant player in mobile phones with the Android operating arrangement. The company is also hoping to create the largest digitized library of the world's books that is completely searchable with Google Books. Google is also working on a euphony retail service to compete with Orchard apple tree's iTunes, and a modern report aside the Guardian said Google's YouTube is hoping to become "the home of live out sports broadcasting online" for major North American sports leagues such as the NBA and NHL.

Add to all that the massive amounts of user data Google has on its servers, and it's no surprise that regulators lack to consider reigning in the company.

But does Google's dominance in research and its growing database of information and content justify the same kind of treatment Microsoft conventional in the 1990s? Eastern Samoa Bloomberg News contributor Paul Kedrosky fresh pointed out, Google's search business does not lock in customers the corresponding way that a desktop operating system from Microsoft does. If you choose to install Windows, you can only usage products designed for that organization. Microsoft was able to use its big commercialise power to pressure competitors so much equally RealNetworks and IBM's OS/2 operating organization.

Google, on the other handwriting, can't shut up users, since search engines such as Bing, Blekko and DuckDuckGo are available to anyone with just a few creep clicks. But for any intellect, most users are sticking with Google for search rather than trying something else. Nevertheless, Google's massive research user mean, critics say, gives it the ability to affect a land site's popularity by moving the site off Google's freshman pageboy of research results. This is voice of the reason out some European sites filed antitrust arguments against the search monster.

It's not yet clear if Google would face a massive fair probe, but the search giant is no stranger to cast accusations of monopolistic deportment either. In March 2009, Google joined with other Web browser makers in a charge to the European Commission that Microsoft was shielding Internet Explorer from competition by bundling the web browser with every copy of Windows. Microsoft responded past bountiful European users the option to dump IE from Windows.

Associate with Ian Paul ( @ianpaul ) and Today@PCWorld happening Twitter for the latest tech newsworthiness and analytic thinking.