FTC Ends Google Antitrust Probe With New Agreement

U.S. regulators on Thursday closed a long-running investigation of Google with an agreement to end the practice of "scraping" reviews and other data from rivals' websites for its own products, and to allow advertisers to export data to independently evaluate advertising campaigns, the Federal Trade Commission said. Google also agreed to license standard patents on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms, NBC News reported. β€œThe changes Google has agreed to make will ensure that consumers continue to reap the benefits of competition in the online marketplace and in the market for innovative wireless devices they enjoy,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibovitz. Google has already scaled back on "scraping" content after Yelp, Inc., a business review site, lodged a complaint that prompted the FTC investigation, according to The Associated Press. Google's rivals, including Microsoft, say the search engine has been promoting its own services on its search results and burying links to competing sites.

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