| By Maureen O'Gara |
Article Rating: |
|
| November 15, 2012 10:00 AM EST |
Reads: |
2,613 |
FTC chairman Jonathan Leibowitz is reportedly pressing Google to put acceptable remedies on the table in the next couple of days or face an antitrust suit for abusing its Internet dominance in the next week or two.
Bloomberg says it was told by unnamed sources that the FTC wants to resolve complaints that Google ranks its own services ahead of rivals.
It's been investigating Google for almost 20 months.
The agency also has problems with Google's exclusive search arrangements and the hurdles it puts in the way of advertisers trying to compare results with rival search engines like Yahoo and Bing.
Google and the agency have reportedly been dickering for the last couple of weeks but haven't come to terms. The agency apparently wants Google to sign a consent decree.
The FTC's staff wants to sue Google for - among other things - misusing its patents to block rival smartphones.
Maureen O'Gara the most read technology reporter for the past 20 years, is the Cloud Computing and Virtualization News Desk editor of SYS-CON Media. She is the publisher of famous "Billygrams" and the editor-in-chief of "Client/Server News" for more than a decade. One of the most respected technology reporters in the business, Maureen can be reached by email at maureen(at)sys-con.com or paperboy(at)g2news.com, and by phone at 516 759-7025. Twitter: @MaureenOGara
