FTC Rules That Google DOESN'T Favor Itself...Yeah, Right!

Google wins. Everyone else loses. Simple as that.

(I should add it is worth looking into Google's relationship with the current administration and other post-election actions, but political stuff is verboten here.)

FTC statement closing the investigation into Google's search practices: (Don't believe the self-serving title of the FTC article about important search changes being made.)

Google Agrees to Change Its Business Practices to Resolve FTC Competition Concerns In the Markets for Devices Like Smart Phones, Games and Tablets, and in Online Search

Good article on Politico:

Google dodges bullet as FTC closes probe - Tony Romm - POLITICO.com

This is an easy prediction to make: 5 years from now you can look back at this being a red-letter day.

There are a lot of Internet businesses that should prepare for extinction. Many, many businesses should prepare to pay Google for customer referrals.

You should be closely examining your business niche and models to determine how reliant your business is on Google, and whether you are in an industry Google is likely to target as Google rapidly accelerates its shift from becoming a 'search engine' for finding information elsewhere, to the destination where information is found and products are bought.

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Surprise surprise! I of course completely expected this outcome and I doubt many here will be taken aback by the findings.
Just out of interest type in anything Car Insurance or Auto Insurance related and guess who appears ahead of all 10 on page 1? You guessed it, Google themselves have their own product above the search results and it stands out more than the 10 search results.

How is this not product bias? This is just one example of many of course. Maybe the FTC didn't check this out lol. Let's see how Microsoft and others react to this. However, the EU still has a massive case going on against Google which potentially could lead to up to a $4 BN fine so they're not all clear yet!

The problem with this entire situation is the fact that there is no clear cut competitor in search. If one existed, this wouldn't even be an issue...but the fact of the matter is...Google hasn't had a search competitor for over a decade now.

It's a step in the right direction, but it's too little too late, IMO. This needed to be handed down 3-4 years ago, when it could have actually had an impact.