A420 – INVESTIGATION BEGUN INTO GOOGLE ITALIA FOLLOWING A COMPLAINT FROM FIEG
PRESS RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
PUBLISHING: ANTITRUST AUTHORITY TO INVESTIGATE GOOGLE ITALY OVER ALLEGED ABUSE OF A DOMINANT POSITION
This proceeding follows a complaint from FIEG, the Federazione Italiana Editori Giornali (Italian Newspaper Publishing Federation). The Federation claims that, in managing its Google News Italia service, Google prevents publishers from freely choosing the manner in which they allow the use of news published on their websites. News sites that do not want to appear on Google News are said to be automatically excluded from the Google search engine. This may distort the market for online advertising.
The Italian Competition Authority, at its meeting on 26 August 2009, decided to open an investigation into whether Google Italy's conduct, given the company's undoubted dominance in online search services, is such as to adversely affect proper competition in the online advertising market and to consolidate its position as an intermediary in the sale of advertising space.
The company was notified today of the proceeding during the course of an inspection carried out in collaboration with the Special Units of the Guardia di Finanza (Fiscal Police). This follows a complaint from FIEG, the Federazione Italiana Editori Giornali (Italian Newspaper Publishing Federation), relating to the Google News Italia service which brings together, indexes and partially displays news published by many online Italian publishers. The publishers maintain that Google News Italia, by partially using the individual online publishers' product, negatively impacts their ability to attract users and advertising to their sites. The Italian publishers, who receive no form of direct remuneration for the use of their content on Google News, say furthermore that they have no possibility of choosing whether or not news published on their own sites is to be included on this portal: Google makes it possible for a publisher not to appear on Google News but it is claimed that that leads to the exclusion of their content from Google's search engine. Such a condition would be extremely disadvantageous: being on Google's search engine is a determinant factor in allowing a website to attract visitors and thus garner advertising revenues, given this search engine's huge popularity wth users.
The Antitrust Authority's investigation, then, must determine whether Google's conduct, made possible by its undoubted dominance in online search services, is such as to adversely affect proper competition in the online advertising market with the further effect of consolidating its position as an intermediary in the sale of online advertising.
Rome, 27 August 2009