Search neutrality and referral dominance

Journal of Competition Law and Economics

Volumn 8, Issue 3, 2012, Pages 459-468

  Crane, Daniel A ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN   (United States)

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 84865558999     PISSN: 17446414     EISSN: 17446422     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/joclec/nhs014     Document Type: Article

References (30)

1. See, e.g., Benjamin Edelman, Bias in Search Results? Diagnosis and Response, 7 IND. J.L. and TECH. 16 (2011), http://www.nls.ac.in/ojs-2.2.3/index.php/IJLT/article/view/
2. Marvin Ammori and Luke Pelican, Competitors' Proposed Remedies for Search Bias: Search Neutrality and Other Proposals, 15 J. INTERNET L. 1 (2012)
3. Geoffrey A. Manne and Joshua D. Wright, If Search Neutrality Is the Answer, What's the Question?, 2012 COLUM. BUS. L. REV. 151 (2012)
4. Press Release, European Comm'n, Antitrust: Commission Probes Allegations of Antitrust Violations by Google (Nov. 30, 2010http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction. do?reference=IP/10/1624
5. Claire Cain Miller, Texas Probes Google on Ranking of Search Results, N.Y. TIMES (Sept. 3, 2010), http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/04/technology/04google.html
6. See generally Rufus Pollock, Is Google the Next Microsoft? Competition, Welfare and Regulation in Internet Search (2009), http://ssrn.com/abstract=1265521.
7. David Scheff, Playboy Interview: Google Guys, PLAYBOY, Sept. 1, 2004 (reprinted in GOOGLE INC., PROSPECTUS (SEC FORM 424B4) (filed Aug. 19, 2004), available at http://www. secinfo.com/d14D5a.14cZu.htm#1stPage
8. See The Power of Google: Serving Consumers or Threatening Competition?: Hearing Before the S. Subcomm. on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, 112th Cong. 2 (statement of Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman, Google Inc.).2011
9. An October 2010 study published by comScore, Inc. indicated that one third of all searches performed on the Big 3 search engines contained a non-web source like news, videos, or images within their results. In particular, Bing and Google included these "blended results" 54 percent and 33 percent of the time, respectively. Eli Goodman and Eli Feldblum, Blended Search and the New Rules of Engagement 6-8 (comScore 2010), http://www.comscore. com/Press_Events/Presentations_Whitepapers/2010/Blended_Search_and_the_New_Rules_of_ Engagement
10. James Niccolai, Yahoo Vows Death to the "10 Blue Links", PCWORLD (May 19, 2009), http:// www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/165214/yahoo_vows_death_to_the_10_blue_links.html.
11. See Oren Etzioni, Search Needs a Shake-Up, 476 NATURE 25, 26 (2011).
12. Shashi Seth, A New World of Search Is About the Answers, Not Just the Links (May 7, 2011), http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/07/search-answers-not-just-links/?utm_source=feedburnerutm_ medium=feedutm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%291.
13. This argument is premised on the notions that "search is the critical gateway by which users navigate the web" and that search traffic drives development on the Internet. As such, Google's dominance gives the company not only "unprecedented power to steer users and to stifle competition," but to raise prices and reduce innovation as well. The Power of Google: Serving Consumers or Threatening Competition?: Hearing Before the S. Subcomm. on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, 112th Cong.) (statement of Thomas O. Barnett, Partner, Covington and Burling LLP).3-4 (2011
14. Jacqui Cheng, Nielsen: Fickle Search Engine Users Could Benefit Bing, ARS TECHNICA, June 2009, http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2009/06/nielsen-fickle-search-engine-users-could-benefitbing
15. Greg Sterling, Another Survey (Incorrectly) Predicts Google Could Lose Search (citing a Forrester Research study reporting that number of search engine users who use Google exclusively is only 20 percent); Press Release, Performics, Search Engine Usage Study: 92 Percent of Searchers Click on Sponsored Results (2010), http://www.performics.com/news-room/press-releases/Search-Engine- Usage-Study-92-Percent/1422 (reporting that 89 percent of Internet users report that they switch to a different search engine if they do not find what they want on the first engine they use). Crown, SEARCH ENGINE LAND (Feb. 6, 2009), http://searchengineland.com/another-surveyincorrectly- predicts-google-could-lose-search-crown-16473
16. Press Release, Nielsen//NetRatings, Majority of Online Searchers Use Multiple Search Engines, Pointing to a Fluid Competitive Landscape, According to Nielsen//NetRatings (Feb. 28, 2005), http://www.nielsen-online.com/pr/pr_050228.pdf
17. See, e.g., James Grimmelmann, The Structure of Search Engine Law, 93 IOWA L. REV. 1-3 (2007)
18. "Search engines are the new linchpins of the Internet.").
19. Presentation, ITA Intro for Third Parties, provided by Google (on file with author).
20. Compete.com (Aug. 2011), http://www.compete.com/us/2011
21. On the essential facilities doctrine, see generally 3A PHILLIP AREEDA and HERBERT HOVENKAMP, ANTITRUST LAW 771c (2d ed., Aspen Publishers 2002).
22. Omar Khan, How Much of an Average Website's Traffic Comes from Google?, (reporting that search drove 61 percent of all visits to 21 sampled websites and that Google organic search drove an average of 41 percent of traffic to the sampled websites) (last visited May 20, 2011www.islco. com/blog/how-much-average-websites-traffic-comes-google
23. Mike Blumenthal, How Much Traffic Do Local Sites Get from Google? (Jan. 11, 2011), http:// blumenthals.com/blog/2011/01/11/how-much-traffic-do-local-sites-get-from-google/
24. What Percentage of Website Traffic Should Be Generated from Search Engines (May 2,), (reporting that between 70 percent and 80 percent of all web traffic to newly established websites from search engines).2011http://www.roi.com.au/beginners-search-engine-marketing/what-ofwebsite- traffic-should-be-generated-from-search-engines/
25. See comScore Data Mine, Sneak Peek: 2010 U.S. Digital Year in Review (Feb. 7, 2011), http://www.comscoredatamine.com/2011/02/2010-us-digital-year-in-review/
26. NIELSEN, STATE OF THE MEDIA: THE SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT Q3 (2011), available at http://cn.nielsen.com/documents/Nielsen-Social-Media-Report_FINAL_090911.pdf.2011
27. See James Grimmelmann, Some Skepticism About Search Neutrality, in THE NEXT DIGITAL DECADE: ESSAYS ON THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNET 435 (Berin Szoka and Adam Marcus eds., Techfreedom 2011)http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi? article=1034context=james_grimmelmann
28. KEN AULETTA, GOOGLED: THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT 254 (Penguin 2009).
29. Joseph Schumpeter, CAPITALISM, SOCIALISM, AND DEMOCRACY 93 (Harper 1944).
30. Bing Pan, Helene Hembrooke, Thorsten Joachims, Lori Lorigo, Geri Gay and Laura Granka, In Google We Trust: Users' Decisions on Rank, Position, and Relevance, 12 J. COMPUTER MEDIATED COMMC'N 801 (2007).