Google dominates conventional search with 67% for PCs and 83% for mobile in the US. Worldwide through its Android mobile operating system, it serves 80% of smartphones. Google is newsworthy because of its scale and the business practices it uses to interact with consumers and businesses. Recently, Google earned media coverage due to allegations of […]
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Coalition Letter to Congress on Digital Privacy
ACI joined a large coalition of think tank organization to support efforts to protect consumer emails and other online information from illegal search and seizure. To read the coalition letter, visit Tech Freedom.
EU Protectionism on the Rise
For two decades, Google has focused tightly on improving its prowess in Internet search. It is very good at search, and while it dominates search (worldwide about 88%) it is not the only player. Microsoft’s Bing (4.5%) also produces excellent results, along with other rivals Yahoo (4.3%) and Baidu (0.6%). When consumers choose among these […]
Google’s European (Un) Welcome
Google gets more than its fair share of abuse in Europe. Some of Google’s punishment rises from fear of Google and the U.S. Other punishment comes from whacky laws that the EU invents and applies to everyone. The EU seems determined to nudge Google out of the continent or at least hobble it enough to […]
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF GOOGLE SEARCH RESULTS SUGGESTS SELF-DEALING
WASHINGTON, DC – As Google faces potential antitrust action in Europe for abuse of its dominance in the search market, along with an antitrust investigation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) , as well as the recent decision by the FTC to levy the largest fine against a private company, for knowingly bypassing privacy settings […]
Google’s “Search” for Personal Online Information
A regulatory agency in Europe is requesting more information from Google on their privacy policies, saying that the answers that Google has provided to them thus far have been inadequate. Since Google changed their privacy policy earlier this year, European regulators have been questioning their strength and whether or not the policies meet the letter […]
ACI: Google’s new privacy policies raise “grave concerns”
“Washington, DC, January 25, 2012 –– In response to multiple news reports that Google will be consolidating their privacy policies and not allowing consumers to opt out, Steve Pociask, President of the American Consumer Institute, made the following statement: “The reports of Google’s privacy changes, which will allow no opt out, raises grave concerns for […]
Google Searches Intentionally Overlook Another Competitor — Twitter
This week, Google made major changes to its search algorithm in an effort to make search results both more relevant to users and more up to date. Google is calling this “Search Plus Your World.” To do so, they’re deeply integrating their new social network, Google+, into the search results that a user will receive […]
Senators Kohl and Lee Call on the FTC to Investigate Google
We applaud Senator Kohl and Senator Lee for standing up for consumers by raising additional concerns about Google’s dominant market power and questionable business practices, particularly given the inconsistencies in the testimony of Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt. While Schmidt seemed to agree with the Senators that Google did have dominant market power during sworn […]
When it Comes to Price Discrimination and Multi-Sided Markets, There is Lot to Learn from Google
This ConsumerGram discusses how Google uses near perfect price discrimination and multi-sided markets to profit on search advertising. The ConsumerGram was written by Dr. Larry Darby, a former FCC Bureau Chief and Chief Economist, shortly before his passing last year. Click here to download the entire piece — CG on multisided markets and price discrimination