Google pledges cooperation with German competition probe

Jan 18, 2010
A visitor checks out the Google stand at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2008. The US Internet search giant Google said on Monday that it would cooperate with a German competition probe after rivals and press associations filed complaints.

The US Internet search giant Google said on Monday that it would cooperate with a German competition probe after rivals and press associations filed complaints.

"The competition authority has informed us of complaints from rivals ... and we are naturally ready to explain our commercial policies and products and are sure they respect German and European legislation," a Google spokesman told AFP.

The German competition watchdog confirmed it had asked Google for information but that the request "did not imply any kind of infraction."

The US group faces three reclamations, from the subsidiary Ciao, the map-making group Euro-cities, and the media publishing federations VDZ and BDZV, a spokesman for the watchdog said.

The media federations complain that Google News, Google Images and Google Video have used their content without authorisation, earning advertising revenues as a result.

Google has already been attacked in connection with its ambitious project to place a vast amount of the world's knowledge online, while Google Street View has been accused of violating privacy laws.

Explore further: Social media plagued by privacy problems, say researchers

add to favorites email to friend print save as pdf

Related Stories

Swiss watchdog threatens to sue Google over Street View

Sep 14, 2009

Switzerland's data protection watchdog on Monday threatened to sue Google over its "Street View" facility, saying that measures taken by the American Internet giant to address privacy concerns were inadequate. ...

Google Maps accused of unfair competition in France

Jul 29, 2009

A French company is taking Google Maps to court for unfair competition, seeking 500,000 euros (706,000 dollars) in damages from the US-based Internet giant, a judicial official said Wednesday.

German court rules against Google's terms

Aug 31, 2009

(AP) -- A German court has ruled that Google Inc. must change terms of service that could be interpreted to compromise a user's rights, a decision the consumer advocacy group that brought the suit welcomed ...

Recommended for you

Seniors are attractive targets for online fraud

7 hours ago

Victims of online fraud need greater support to help them overcome the often serious health effects that follow discovery of the deception, QUT cybersecurity researcher Cassandra Cross says.

Internet in 'coma' as Iran election looms

May 19, 2013

Iran is tightening control of the Internet ahead of next month's presidential election, mindful of violent street protests that social networkers inspired last time around over claims of fraud, users and ...

User comments : 0

More news stories

Game system castAR debuts at Maker Faire

(Phys.org) —Two tech talents, formerly employees at video game publisher Valve, have been working on their own vision in the form of game-ready glasses. Their company, Technical Illusions, will seek to ...

Yahoo-Tumblr is among top 10 tech deals in 2013

Yahoo has agreed to pay $1.1 billion to buy blogging forum Tumblr, ranking it in among the top 10 tech deals announced this year, according to research firm Dealogic. Here's a list of the top 10 tech mergers and acquisitions ...

Glaucoma drug can cause droopy eyelids

Prostaglandin analogues (PGAs), drugs which lower intraocular pressure, are often the first line of treatment for people with glaucoma, but their use is not without risks. PGAs have long been associated with blurred vision, ...