TechtechnologyFTCFederal Trade Commission

Larry Page Meets FTC Officials: Bloomberg News

Larry Page Goes To Washington
Reuters
|
Open Image Modal
Google CEO Larry Page holds a press annoucement at Google headquarters in New York on May 21, 2012. Google announced that it will allocate 22,000 square feet of its New York headquarters to CornellNYC Tech university, free of charge for five years and six month or until the university completes its campus in New York. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel Dunand (Photo credit should read EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/GettyImages)

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc Chief Executive Larry Page met with officials from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in Washington on Tuesday, as the agency moves closer to completing an investigation of the Internet company's business practices, according to Bloomberg news, which cited an anonymous source.

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt and the head of Google's Washington office were spotted on Capitol Hill, according to the report.

Google rivals specializing in travel, shopping and entertainment have accused Google, the world's largest search engine, of unfairly giving their web sites low quality rankings in search results to steer Internet users away from their websites and toward Google products that provide similar services.

Reuters reported in October that four of the FTC commissioners have become convinced that Google illegally used its dominance of the search market to hurt its rivals, while one commissioner is skeptical.

Google declined to comment on the report of Page's meeting with the FTC, which began a probe of Google in 2011.

"We continue to work cooperatively with the Federal Trade Commission and are happy to answer any questions they may have," Google spokeswoman Samantha Smith said in an emailed statement.

(Reporting By Alexei Oreskovic; editing by Carol Bishopric)

Before You Go

7 Tech Titans Funding Political Campaigns
Sheryl Sandberg(01 of07)
Open Image Modal
Chief operating officer of Facebook.Contributed $60,800 in 2011-2012 so far.Leans to the left (96 percent to Democrats, 4 percent to Republicans).While there's no record of Facebook chairman Mark Zuckerberg making political donations, his No. 2 was once a Washington heavyweight. During the Clinton administration, Sheryl Sandberg worked as chief of staff to then-Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. She has donated to President Barack Obama and a variety of Democratic lawmakers.
Bill Gates (i.e., Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation)(02 of07)
Open Image Modal
Founder of Microsoft.Contributed $34,375 in 2011-2012 so far.Leans to the left (98 percent to Democrats, 2 percent to Republicans).One of the wealthiest people on the planet, Bill Gates takes a key political stand that doesn't reflect his pocketbook interests: He supports higher taxes on the rich. He also backs marriage equality. His donations are made through the nonprofit Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which handles the herculean task of distributing the billionaire's money among worthy causes around the globe.
Eric Schmidt(03 of07)
Open Image Modal
Executive chairman of Google.Contributed $73,000 in 2011-2012 so far.Leans to the left (63 percent to Democrats, 37 percent to Republicans).While the former Google CEO's donations are more evenly distributed between the two parties than those of some other tech titans, Eric Schmidt may be the tech exec who is coziest with the Obama administration. He served as a campaign adviser during Obama's first presidential run, has been invited to White House galas and was even named to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission was hitting Google left and right over privacy violations.
Peter Thiel(04 of07)
Open Image Modal
Co-founder of PayPal and early Facebook investor.Contributed $2,634,700 in 2011-2012 so far.Leans to the right (93 percent to Republicans, 7 percent to Democrats).According to Influence Explorer, this Silicon Valley venture capitalist is the fourth most generous political donor in the country, giving $2.6 million to campaigns and third parties over the past year and a half. Among his sometimes eccentric libertarian views (he's a champion of having very smart kids not attend college), Peter Thiel supported Texas Rep. Ron Paul's run for president. Thiel has given the vast majority of his donations to super PAC Endorse Liberty, which runs TV and online spots backing Paul.
Laurene Powell Jobs(05 of07)
Open Image Modal
Wife of the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.Contributed $59,800 in 2011-2012 so far.Leans to the left (100 percent to Democrats).According to Influence Explorer, Steve Jobs didn't contribute to political campaigns, but that shouldn't be surprising: The late Apple CEO didn't like donating to anybody, politician or not. His wife is more generous. In this electoral cycle, Laurene Powell Jobs has given exclusively to Democrats, including President Obama, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona. In 2010, Jobs began serving on Obama's White House Council for Community Solutions.
John Donahoe(06 of07)
Open Image Modal
CEO of eBay.Contributed $48,300 in 2011-2012 so far.Leans to the left (100 percent to Democrats).Unlike his predecessor at eBay, onetime Republican California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, John Donahoe has donated all blue this election cycle. He gave $5,000 each to President Barack Obama's and New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's reelection campaigns. He currently serves on the president's White House Council for Community Solutions, like Laurene Jobs. This despite having worked with Mitt Romney at Bain & Company and singing his old colleague's praises."I think it is outstanding that he has been able to switch to the campaign mode as a politician, because it is certainly not an easy transition coming from the executive role in business," Donahoe told the Dartmouth Business Journal in March 2012.
Randall Stephenson(07 of07)
Open Image Modal
Chairman and CEO of AT&T.Contributed $16,332 in 2011-2012 so far.Leans to the right (87 percent to Republicans, 13 percent to Democrats).Campaign finance advocates couldn't write a better example of political donations with intent. After AT&T, the largest U.S. mobile carrier, failed to get approval from the Democratic-controlled Federal Communications Commission for a merger with T-Mobile in December, Randall Stephenson up and donated the maximum legal amount to the Republican National Committee. Talk about bitter.
Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip