Google to create new unit for shopping service to satisfy EU
Brussels — Google will create a stand-alone unit for its shopping service and require it to bid against rivals for ads shown on the top of its search page, in an effort to satisfy EU concerns over the display of product results, three people familiar with the matter said. Google faces a Thursday deadline to comply with an EU anti-trust decision in relation to the search giant’s treatment of competitors’ comparison-shopping sites, according to the people, who asked not to be named as the negotiations are private. While the shopping service will remain part of Google, it will operate separately and use its own revenues to bid for ads. Google was ordered by regulators to stop promoting its own shopping search results over competitors’ and to make changes designed to give rivals fairer treatment by September 28, the EU said in June when it fined the company ¤2.4bn ($2.8bn). The company could be fined up to 5% of daily revenue if it fails to comply. Al Verney, a spokesman for Google in B...
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