Google’s for Jobs, an initiative that connects companies with potential employees by listing job opportunities at the top of job-related search results, is being probed by European Union (EU) regulators following numerous complaints from rivals which claim that Google is engaging in anti-competitive behavior.
Google for Jobs is two years old and has reportedly drawn many complaints from competing job search websites since launching.
European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager voiced concerns over the possibility of Google engaging in anti-competitive behavior in this jobs tool and other areas of its business by saying:
“We’re looking right now at whether the same thing may have happened with other parts of Google’s business – like the job search business known as Google for Jobs.”
The news of this investigation follows 23 job search websites writing a letter to Vestager earlier this month and alleging that Google’s placement of job adverts at the top of its search results is a “ploy” to gain market share. The letter suggested that once it has gained market share through these job listings, Google will change its business models and introduce paid links to job offers.
Google says it has changed its jobs search results after receiving feedback from Europe. Some of these changes include adding direct links to a choice of job sites and directly linking to job offers that are only available on a specific site.
Vestager also suggested that the European Commission (EC) may regulate companies like Google “to make sure that these platforms use their power in a way that’s fair and doesn’t discriminate.”
This is the latest in a series of investigations Google is facing concerning alleged anti-competitive activity. One of the largest and most notable probes is a broad antitrust review into the practices of Google and other tech giants which is being conducted by the US Department of Justice (DOJ).
