Google may skirt the most serious antitrust allegations under investigation by the US as regulators waver on whether they can prove consumers are hurt by the way the company ranks its search results, three people familiar with the matter said.
Federal Trade Commission officials are unsure that they have enough evidence to sue Google successfully under antitrust laws for giving its own services top billing and pushing down the offerings of rivals, said the people, who have asked for anonymity because the discussions aren’t public.
Regulators are also looking at whether the ranking system’s benefits to consumers outweigh any harm suffered by rivals including NexTag and Kayak Software.
A vote by the FTC’s five commissioners on whether to file a lawsuit, and what its scope should be, is expected before the end of the month