U.S. Senators Request Antitrust Hearing for Google

Despite competition that exists just a click away, the bull’s-eye on

Google’s back has grown as big as its 65 percent U.S.

search market share in the eyes of the U.S. Senate.

One day after the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy,

and Consumer Rights vowed to ensure fair competition in the Internet search

market dominated by Google, Sen. Michael S. Lee, R-Utah, March 11 called for

the subcommittee to conduct an oversight hearing on the search giant.

Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., said in a March 10

statement on the group’s agenda that he wants to make sure Internet search is

fair to users and customers, that consumers’ privacy is preserved, and that

advertisers who pay search engines to place information about their goods and

services have sufficient choices.

It’s no coincidence that these, along with Google’s increased appetite for

acquisitions that fortify its massive market plot, are all areas where Google

has found itself challenged in 2010.

“In recent years, the dominance over Internet search of the world’s

largest search engine, Google, has increased and Google has increasingly sought

to acquire e-commerce sites in myriad businesses,” Kohl said in a statement.

For more, read the eWEEK article: Google Antitrust Hearing Requested by U.S. Senators.