TripAdvisor is in news for filing a complaint with the European Commission to address “anti-competitive and unfair practices” by Google.

The company, said in a statement, “We hope that the Commission takes prompt corrective action to ensure a healthy and competitive online environment that will foster innovation across the Internet.”

According to a report filed by Reuters, in its statement, TripAdvisor gave no details of the specifics of its complaint or of how it believed it was being harmed.

“We haven’t seen this complaint yet, but we will continue to discuss any concerns with the Commission, knowing that there's always room for improvement,” Al Verney, Google’s spokesman, said in a statement.

The development follows online travel company Expedia’s decision to file an antitrust complaint against Google with European Union regulators. It details “specific business and search practices by Google that constitute a violation of European Union competition and consumer protection laws”. Expedia said its complaint offers evidence of how Google’s conduct harms not only competition, but consumers.

ETTSA supports Expedia’s complaint

Meanwhile, the European Technology & Travel Services Association (ETTSA) has chosen to support a complaint filed with the European Commission by its member Expedia.
The Commission opened an investigation in 2010 to look into whether Google was abusing its dominant market position by favouring its own vertical search services and lowering the ranking of unpaid search results of competing vertical services. The Association mentioned that consumers expect that Google search results are neutral, but this is not the case when the results favour Google’s own platforms, such as Flight Search. Unlike Google, other players in this arena, including the Global Distribution Systems, abide by strict neutrality principles enshrined in EU legislation when displaying travel search results, said the Association.
“ETTSA urges the Commission to closely examine Google’s potential abuse of dominance. This will protect consumers and the online travel market which is a vital contributor to the European economy and a growth engine for the future,” stated the ETTSA.