According to a survey conducted by research institute Lademann & Associates, three years after being fined US$2.7 billion by the European Union, Google’s shopping price comparison service Google Shopping has not changed its business model and is still engaged in monopolistic behavior.
Commissioned by 25 shopping websites, Lademann & Associates conducted a study that surveyed 10.5 billion hits. Research shows that less than 1% of traffic through Google Shopping is directed to rival websites such as Kelkoo and Idemo.
Industry lawyer Thomas Hoppner (Thomas Hoppner) said that this comprehensive empirical study shows that Google is still disrupting competition.
The study was conducted three years after Google agreed to adjust its Google Shopping. In June 2017, the European Union had announced a fine of 2.42 billion euros (approximately US$2.7 billion) on Google Shopping. The reason is that Google favored its own service Google Shopping and “downgraded the services of competitors.”
Regarding the EU’s ruling, Google has filed an appeal to the General Court of the EU Intermediate Court, and the result of the appeal is expected to be released by the end of this year. At the same time, Google also submitted to the European Commission a plan to adjust Google Shopping services to meet EU antitrust laws.
But Hopner said that so far, Google’s main search results (a key source of traffic) have not been affected by these changes. He claimed that the remedial measures taken by Google led by Sundar Pichai “do not improve the competitive situation at all.”
In addition to the Google Shopping service, two other Google services, Google Android and Google AdSense advertising services have also been subject to EU antitrust fines, and Google has also filed an appeal.
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