Google provides antitrust settlement proposal – report

PanARMENIAN.Net - The time has rolled around for Google to address the antitrust issues concerning the company with the European Commission, with the search engine giant providing its antitrust settlement proposal just before the January 31 deadline it was given. Sources said to be familiar with the situation have chimed into say that the proposal is a lot like what we saw in the FTC settlement, SlashGear reports.

Everything else aside, it seems Google will not have to acknowledge that it has done anything wrong. The proposal was submitted after negotiations, and while similar to the FTC settlement, is said to have some differences worth noting. One such difference is the likelihood that Google will beef up search labeling of its own items, and that this proposal will exclude mention of patents.

According to AllThingsD, the information is said to come from sources present at the negotiations that took place in Brussels. Unlike the FTC settlement, which was rampant with leaks to the point of prompting an investigation, the European Commission proposal has been far more closed off and tight knit. If all this proves to be true, those critical of the FTC settlement are likely to be just as unhappy with the EC proposal, SlashGear says.

Neither the European Commission nor Google have offered any statements on the information, with the latter simply stating that it is continuing to work with the EC. Although all information that comes from sources like this should not be taken without a healthy dose of skepticism, some other outlets are also reporting that Google has submitted the proposal.