Google could soon need an even larger army of legal counsels as anti-trust complaints continue to mount on the company. In yet another complaint, yet again in the EU, Google’s job searching tool is facing criticism from job listing sites in the European Union, according to a fresh report from Reuters. According to the report, 23 job search websites, in a letter to Margrethe Vestager — Competition Commissioner for the EU — have asked that Google’s job listing tool be withdrawn.
Google’s job search engine is a part of its main search engine and returns job listings when you search particularly for jobs. It has become pretty much a universal feature for all other industries as well.
Google’s job search tool, launched two years ago, links jobs across platforms like LinkedIn, Monster, WayUp, DirectEmployers, CareerBuilder and Facebook as well as job listings that it finds on a company’s homepage. For instance, you can search “retail jobs” in a specific location and you’ll get job listings related to the retail sector. The tool links job listings where you can apply and has features like filter search and bookmark.
Sites such as Best Jobs Online, Intermedia, Jobindex among others have claimed that their job listings are being pushed down in the search results while Google is favoring its own service. These sites have accused Google of using its dominance for placing its own job search results on top which attracts more traffic.
These sites fear that eventually, Google will be selling ads in the job searching tool. This is also a reason why Google had launched the service in the first place. It provides quick results to the job queries and the users stay on its page where it can place ads.
“Any provider – from individual employers to job listing platforms – can utilize this feature in search, and many of them have seen a significant increase in the number of job applications they receive. By improving the search experience for jobs, we’re able to deliver more traffic to sites across the web and support a healthy job search ecosystem,” said Nick Zakrasek, senior product manager for Google search, in a statement to Reuters.
Zakrasek said that the job searching tool was introduced to link prominent results from job listing sites providing them with a significant increase in site traffic. He has said that Google welcomes industry feedback on the job searching tool.
Reuters, citing a person familiar with the matter, has reported that Vestager is preparing an “intensive” handover to her successor as she leaves office on October 31st. This essentially means that the formal investigation will be carried out by the new Commissioner once Vestager leaves her office.
