Google Inc. has reached a tentative settlement with European antitrust regulators to end an investigation into allegations it abused its search-engine dominance to promote its own services over those of rivals.
The deal, announced Wednesday in Brussels, could end a lengthy probe and allow Google to avoid a large fine and other penalties from European regulators.
Under the settlement, Google has promised that whenever it promotes its own specialized services in search results, it also will promote the services of three competitors, the European Union’s competition commissioner said.
Microsoft Corp. and other Google rivals had complained to European regulators that Google was treating rival services differently in search results than it did its own, squelching competition for restaurant reviews, airfare shopping and other services.
Google’s rivals have complained that previous settlement offers by the company did not adequately address their concerns.
Business, Pages 20 on 02/10/2014