14 DAY TRIAL // Europe really has it in for Google. Behest by rivals that haven't been able to be successful the old-fashioned way, i.e. by building products people want to use, the European Commission's monopoly watchdog has been investigating Google's alleged wrongdoings for the past few years.
It hasn't really found anything (if it had, it would have said something about), but it is using its power to pressure Google into a settlement. The company is more than happy to throw the regulators a bone and make some changes to the search engine, if that means getting the investigation over with.
Google has offered to advertise several less fortunate competitors on its search pages for free, in the hope that some people may go their way, and made several other concessions which are now being taken into consideration.
But the EU isn't just willing to take Google's word for it. Whatever settlement it reaches, the regulators are thinking about creating a post for a Google watchdog whose only job would be to check whether the company lives up to its promises, as the New York Times Bits blog reports.
The monitor would be paid by Google and would not be able to have any connection to the company for five years after leaving the job. The guardian would also have to keep secret anything it finds out about the company from the privileged position. It's unclear what the job actually entitles or whether it will even become a reality, as it's just a proposal for now.
For what it's worth, Google's would-be competitors, ranging from future has-beens such as Microsoft and companies no one heard of until they sued Google, aren't happy with the latest proposed concessions.
Granted, it doesn't look like they would be happy with anything the Mountain View company proposes. They would much rather see it entangled in investigations and lawsuits for years to come.