Google Faces Fresh U.S. Scrutiny Over Market Power
Google商業手段再次遭受全美調查
Google just
can’t seem to keep “the man” off its back.
Google似乎就是無法擺脫”某人”的魔爪
It’s only been a few months since Google walked away from
a multi-year federal
antitrust investigation into its search
practices, with the legal equivalent of a slap on the
wrist. Now, Google is said to be facing another antitrust probe,
this time into its dominant position in the market for online display
advertising. The Federal Trade Commission has launched a preliminary inquiry
into whether Google is unfairly using its display ad market power to curb competition
and push companies toward using its other products and services, according to multiplereports.
The new FTC inquiry, which is in its early stages and may not result in a
formal probe, is focused on Google’s giant DoubleClick unit, which the search
giant purchased in 2008 for $3.1 billion. DoubleClick offers marketers and
publishers tools to help them place and track display and video
ads. Google’s YouTube video service is also a major force in display
advertising. In the first quarter of 2013, Google accounted for 24.1% of the
display ad market, up three points from a
year earlier, according to
data from market reach firm IDC. Yahoo! and Facebook accounted for 9.9% and
9.2%, respectively.
Google’s text-based search ads are well known to consumers because they
are present on most Google search result pages. But the company also has
number of advertising products that aren’t consumer-facing, but are designed
for online marketers and publishers. These include the DoubleClick Ad
Exchange, which is an advertising marketplace that generates revenue for
Google, as well as DoubleClick for Publishers, which allows websites to
track ad performance. If Google is using its market power to push companies to
use these or other company products — or is bundling its products together in a
practice known as “tying” — Google could run afoul of federal antirust laws.
Gooogle的關鍵字廣告因總出現在搜尋結果上而被消費者熟知。同時也擁有非消費者面向的廣告產品，設計給網路行銷或出版商，像是為Google帶來廣告收益的DoubleClick Ad Exchange，而DoubleClick for Publisher則能讓網站追蹤廣告效果。如果Google用其市場力量促使別人使用自己的產品或者包裝成套裝軟體搭售，則Google的作法將會與反壟斷法牴觸。
Google’s DoubleClick purchase was controversial, and was subject to a
lengthy FTC review that concluded in December
of 2007, paving the way
for the deal. Ultimately,
the FTC decided that “Google’s proposed acquisition of DoubleClick is unlikely
to substantially lessen competition.” However, the agency emphasized that it
planned to “closely watch these markets and, should Google engage in unlawful
tying or other anticompetitive conduct, the Commission intends to act quickly.” A Google representative declined to
comment on the reports of a new probe.
The FTC’s inquiry comes just months after Google agreed to make
voluntary changes to its search business in order to avoid a major federal
antitrust lawsuit into whether it uses its search market power to harm rivals.
Several of Google’s competitors, including Microsoft and Yelp, had argued that
Google unfairly demoted rivals in its search-engine results in order to
steer users toward Google’s own competing products.
But the FTC ruled unanimously that it lacked sufficient evidence to
charge Google with antitrust violations. Under the terms of the deal,
Google agreed to make relatively modest, voluntary changes to its search
engine. Compared with the prospect of a major federal lawsuit — which would
have been the most significant federal antitrust case against a tech company
since the U.S. went after Microsoft in the late 1990s — these voluntary changes
amounted to a slap on the wrist. 但公委會一致裁定沒有足夠的證據去起訴Google壟斷，根據協議，Google同意對其搜尋引擎做出具誠意、自願性質的改變。相較於可能成為1990年微軟訴訟後最大宗的壟斷案，這些協議下的改變，就像是個警告。
Google’s deal represented a bitter blow to the search giant’s rivals,
including Microsoft, which lashed out at the settlement. In a blog
post, Microsoft VP and deputy general counsel Dave Heiner wrote that
“2013 hopefully will be the year when antitrust enforcers display the resolve
that Google continues to lack.” Steve
Pociask, president of the AmericanConsumerInstituteCenter for Citizen
Research, said in a sharply worded statement that federal regulators “failed to
use their authority for the betterment of the marketplace and to the advantage
of consumers.” He added: “Letting Google off with a letter promising not to do
it again is like believing Lindsay Lohan will stay out of trouble this time.”
Given that the latest probe into Google over its display ad practices is
reportedly still in the preliminary stages, it’s too early to tell whether the
inquiry could evolve into another multi-year investigation.There’s little doubt, however,
that that’s precisely what some of Google’s rivals would like to see. At this
point, given Google’s dominance in the Internet ad market, regulatory scrutiny
is to be expected. When you’re number one,
having a target on your back comes with the territory.
