Yelps says Google trying to bring back ‘discredited’ rival links EU antitrust remedy

Google is reportedly seeking to avoid further European antitrust penalties in shopping search by testing out a new link placement to drive traffic to competitors’ sites. Yelp has strongly criticized the proposal, saying it represents a resuscitation of an earlier approach that was rejected.Google antitrust backstory. In 2017, the European Commission (EC) fined Google roughly $2.7 billion for “abusing its dominant position” in shopping search. Google has appealed the decision. But in the interim Google has implemented a number of changes to provide theoretically equal treatment for rival Comparison Shopping Engines (CSEs) in Europe. Those changes have met with qualified support from the EC but been criticized by the CSEs themselves recently.Google now competes with rival CSEs in PLAs. However the CSEs have complained that “the harm to competition, consumers and innovation caused by Google’s illegal conduct has continued unabated” a year after the remedy was implemented.