The ongoing European Commission probe is investigating Google in relation to four different criteria. This includes examining if Google’s own services are given emphasis over competitors in search results, as well as general concerns over the display and use of third party content. The two other focus points relate to Google’s advertising policies.

Although official details of the submitted proposals have yet to emerge, it is being reported that Google have offered to display three search results from competing services for every one of their own. Google have also promised to prominently mark and differentiate search results or ads for their own services.

Although the settlement will place stricter restrictions on Google, it will be seen as a victory for the company if they are not found to be in breach of anti-competition regulations and fined accordingly.

With EU authorities expected to accept the settlement, Google’s competitors have strongly opposed the rumoured specifics of the settlement. Speaking to Bloomberg, David Wood of ICOMP – an industry group representing many of Google’s competitors, including Microsoft – said “if what has been proposed is labeling or a modified form of labeling, frankly that’s a non-starter. We haven’t seen the proposals and the commission hasn’t explained them to us.”

Other investigations

In the US, the Federal Trade Commission this January also ruled against financial penalties for Google’s business practices, although forced the Internet giant to make a number of changes to their advertising and other policies. The EU settlement – which addresses the four investigative criteria – would place more restrictions on Google than the US ruling, although ICOMP and others have predicted that the settlement will have very little practical effect on Google’s market dominance.

The settlement, if accepted, does not signal the end of EU investigations into Google. Fairsearch Europe, a group of several of Google’s competitors in the mobile phone industry, just this month filed a complaint to antitrust regulators that accused Google’s Android platform of being “a deceptive way to build advantages for key Google apps in 70 percent of the smartphones shipped today.” That investigation will be separate to the ongoing one, which is focused on Google’s search technology.

Google’s European headquarters is based in Dublin, where it employs over 3,000 people.