TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) filed an antitrust complaint against Google Inc. (GOOG) with European Union regulators, adding a second complaint against the world's largest search- engine operator by online travel companies.
TripAdvisor said the complaint addresses "anti-competitive and unfair practices by Google that harm the marketplace and consumer welfare," the Newton, Massachusetts-based company said today in a statement, which didn't give details of the allegations.
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) last week filed a complaint with the European Commission, adding to an EU investigation of claims that Google discriminated against other services in its search results and stopped some websites from accepting rival ads. Joaquin Almunia, the EU's competition commissioner, has said he may decide this month whether to proceed with a case against Google.
"We hope that the commission takes prompt corrective action to ensure a healthy and competitive online environment that will foster innovation across the Internet," TripAdvisor said in the statement.
Google, based in Mountain View, California, is under growing pressure from global antitrust agencies probing whether the company is thwarting competition in the market for Web searches. While Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and partner Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) have about a quarter of the U.S. Web-search market, Google has almost 95 percent of the traffic in Europe, Microsoft said in a blog post last year, citing data from regulators.
To contact the reporter on this story: Aoife White in Brussels at awhite62@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net.
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