While Google is currently in the spotlight over antitrust concerns in other parts of the globe, Canada’s Competition Bureau has announced it has dropped its investigation into the company’s search practices. Specifically, the Competition Bureau says that it found no reason to believe Google manipulates search results to stifle competition.
From the report (via Re/Code)
Although Google frequently makes changes to the algorithm it uses to rank search results, evidence obtained over the course of the investigation indicates that Google’s changes are generally made to improve user experiences. For example, Google takes steps to demote websites that attempt to artificially increase their ranking in the search results independent of the quality or relevancy of their content. The Bureau did not find adequate evidence to support the conclusion that Google’s changes to its search results were intended to exclude rivals in Canada.
Following a three-year investigation, the win comes at a good time for Google. Though not related to search, it is expected that the European Union will soon level charges against Google over bundling apps and services with Android. That’s in addition to the charges leveled by the EU in early 2015 over Google’s comparison shopping offering.
