olias - 4:54 pm on Sep 4, 2010 (gmt 0)

I think part of the problem people have here is with 'monopoly' being such an emotive term. There is nothing inherently wrong with having a monopoly, it is how you use/abuse it.

There is no real doubt (in my mind) that Google have a monopoly in the search arena, that isn't a problem. That does then mean they have a monopoly in the search advertising arena too. Are they abusing it? I really don't know, but an investigation can't hurt.

As to the Walmart example, if you've been selling your widgets through Walmart for years and they suddenly decide to move your product to the bottom shelf and put the Walmart branded widgets into the prime shelves then you might feel they are engaging in some anti-competitive behaviour. (Again from personal experience I've never seen a supermarket - in the UK anyway - that puts its own brand products into the prime spots)