In Europe, Google may soon add more branding to search results that come from its own products. The search giant has been in discussions with European Union competition commissioner Joaquín Almunia, and a new report fron the Financial Times says that a Google proposal in response to Almunia’s concerns includes Google offering to label info from its own services by putting its brand on “any of its own maps, stock quotes, airline flight details or other pieces of information returned with search results.”
The publication cites “people familiar with the search giant’s submission” as the source of this information.
There was talk before that Google had submitted a proposal, but the details were kept under wraps. In fact, even since then, Almunia has spoken out about the situation, indicating that there was more progress that needed to be made. Last month at an antitrust conference, Almunia said, “After several exchanges with me, Google has agreed to propose solutions in the four specific areas of concern that we have identified.”
“If effective solutions were found quickly and tested successfully, competition could be restored at an early stage by means of a commitment decision,” he said. “However, we are not there yet, and it must be clear that – in the absence of satisfactory proposals in the short term – I will be obliged to continue with our formal proceedings.”
As the Financial Times notes, Google placing its logo on search results from its own properties wouldn’t do a whole lot to ease the concerns of Google’s competitors.