IndustryFoundem: Google Should Kill or Radically Change Universal Search Results

Foundem: Google Should Kill or Radically Change Universal Search Results

UK price comparison firm Foundem believes that Google's proposed concessions ignore the basis of Google's monopoly on search. Instead, the concessions focus on minor alterations to Google's "self-serving Universal Search inserts."

rejectedUK price comparison firm Foundem has rejected Google’s proposed web search concessions.

The concessions come following the European Commission’s ongoing antitrust investigation into Google’s search business. Foundem reports that the current proposed concessions will do nothing to alleviate Google’s monopoly on web search.

“There are many problems with Google’s proposals,” said Foundem in its response. “But one fundamental flaw undermines every clause: the proposals ignore the natural search results and AdWords listings that Google is being charged with manipulating.”

Foundem believes that the proposed concessions ignore the basis of Google’s monopoly on search. Instead, the concessions focus on minor alterations to Google’s “self-serving Universal Search inserts.”

According to Foundem’s report, any concessions must address Google’s AdWords search capabilities. Foundem says AdWords will continue to give Google an unfair advantage until they are re-worked.

The company says that the current proposal fails to correct Google searches relevance for showing its own services in results. Foundem believes that to truly slow Google’s search monopoly it would have to either eliminate universal search or drastically change it.

“There are only two practical ways to remedy the anti-competitive effects of Universal Search: either eliminate the practice and insist that Google reinstates the natural search results that users visit Google for or radically alter the purpose of Universal Search in order to create a relevance-based level-playing field within it,” continued Foundem.

Google’s antitrust case was instigated by competitors including Microsoft. Competitors said that Google search business was unfairly taking control of the search landscape. Firms accused the search giant of touting its own services in it search.

Foundem sued Google in October because Foundem’s Google search rankings are lower than they used to be.

This article was originally published on V3.

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