The original investigation had focused on the way Google treated rivals in the Internet search business, where it makes most of its revenue and utterly dominates the competition. Rivals have long claimed that Google highlights its own services above those of rivals, even if theirs are less relevant.
Google, in its defense, says it recommends the websites that it finds to be most relevant, using its industry-leading algorithms.
The FTC has closed out the investigation, finding no evidence that Google violated the laws. Google did make concessions, however.
"Although some evidence suggested that Google was trying to eliminate competition, Google's primary reason for changing the look and feel of its search results to highlight its own products was to improve the user experience," FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz added.
As part of the settlement, the FTC will close out another case into abusing patent protection. Google will now license patents that are "deemed" essential to rivals like Apple.
Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 3 Jan 2013 19:22
