Google was fined in 2017 for how it displayed product ads above search queries. — AFP
Expedia Group Inc, TripAdvisor Inc and eDreams Odigeo SA asked the European Union to investigate how Google shows vacation rentals, claiming it unfairly gets a prominent placing above other search results.
In a letter to EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager published online, more than 30 travel firms allege that Google is "favouring its own service in general search results pages” by displaying ads "in a visually-rich OneBox” showing pictures, a map preview, ratings and prices. The display "secures Google’s service more user attention and clicks than any competing service may acquire”.
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