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Leibowitz says FTC open to settling Google case
Jon Leibowitz, the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, said he is open to settling with Google to address concerns that the company is engaging in anti-competitive conduct.
During an interview that aired Sunday on Bloomberg Government's "Capitol Gains," Leibowitz emphasized that the FTC has not made any decisions yet in its yearlong antitrust investigation into Google, but he hinted that the agency's small size means a drawn-out legal battle with Google could be difficult.
"I would say the FTC's door is always open, and look, we're a very small agency by Washington standards. We do consumer protection, we do antitrust, we only have 1,100 employees. So we would always prefer resolution to litigation," Leibowitz said. "But again, we haven't decided what we are going to do."
The agency is investigating whether Google manipulates its search results to ensure that its own services, such as YouTube, Google Maps and Google Shopping, appear above those of its rivals.
Google's competitors argue that the company shouldn't be allowed to use its dominant search engine — which has about a 65 percent market share — to stifle competition.
The company says there is nothing unfair about its search rankings. Even if the results did boost Google products, the company says, it wouldn’t be illegal.
Leibowitz declined to say whether he thinks the case is similar to the Justice Department's suit against Microsoft in the late 1990s.
"We will leave that for other people to judge down the road," he said when pressed on the Microsoft comparison by host Peter Cook. "But again, one of the great things about our agency is we sit around, we talk. We meet with parties always and we try to come to the right resolution, and I believe we will do that and we will do it in a bipartisan manner in a way that protects American consumers and allows businesses — including Google which has done terrific things for consumers — to thrive."
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