Switzerland Investigates Keyword Bidding Agreements Among Travel Firms, Casinos
Swiss Competition Commission Probes Anti-Competitive Practices
ZURICH, April 30 (Reuters) - Switzerland's competition commission has opened an investigation into suspected anti-competitive pacts in which travel companies and online casinos agreed not to bid against each other for search engine keywords.
Focus of the Investigation
The probe focuses on alleged agreements among the companies to avoid bidding on rivals' trade-marked terms in keyword auctions run by search engines such as Alphabet's Google and Microsoft's Bing and others.
Keyword bidding allows firms to pay search engines to ensure their links appear more prominently in search results, boosting the visibility of their products or services.
Background and Initiation
The commission, known as ComCo, began investigating after companies contacted the watchdog to say firms in the travel industry and online casinos had refrained from bidding on keywords related to their competitors' trade marks.
Potential Impact on Competition and Consumers
ComCo said such conduct could be an unlawful agreement to restrict competition and put consumers at a disadvantage, for example by making it more difficult to compare providers.
Details of the Investigations
Targeted Companies
The first investigation is targeting three companies that offer package holidays in Switzerland, while a second concerns nearly all online casinos that operate in the country.
ComCo declined to name the companies involved and said the investigation could last one to two years.
Role of Search Engines
Involvement of Google, Bing, and Others
Google, Bing and other search engines are not part of the investigation, but will be questioned as part of the inquiry, ComCo director Patrik Ducrey said on Thursday.
"We will be speaking with all the search engines to see if they have been affected," Ducrey said, adding it was too early to say how much money was involved in the alleged agreements.
(Reporting by John RevillEditing by Ros Russell)
