Business Communication and Character

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Google Responds to Antitrust Charges

In a data-filled blog post, Google's senior vice president of search responds to antitrust allegations. The first formal charge comes from the European Union, which claims that the company's own results are favored during searches. According to EU competition commissioner, "If the investigation confirmed our concerns, Google would have to face the legal consequences and change the way it does business in Europe." 

In his response for Google, Amit Singhal includes evidence to the contrary. Google's argument is that its own results fair far worse than other sites' results in a user's search.

Google blog
Within the post, Singhal offer four charts, including this about German travel sites, as evidence: 

Google's Germany data

Read the entire post

Discussion Starters: 

  • Read Google's entire post. Which arguments do you find most and least convincing? 
  • How could Singhal have improved his visual displays of data?