While the search engine Google was able to lobby its way out of trouble in the US, things are looking bleak for it in the EU which is likely to force some serious changes on the company.

It looks like Google will be forced to change the way its search results are presented in Europe or face antitrust charges for "diverting traffic" to its own services. According to the Financial Times the EU's competition commissioner, Joaquin Almunia intends to prevent Google from allegedly distorting choices for consumers and taking business from rivals. He said that while the Commission is still investigating, his conviction is that Google was diverting traffic.

"They are monetizing this kind of business, the strong position they have in the general search market and this is not only a dominant position, I think - I fear - there is an abuse of this dominant position," he said.

In December the EU issued Google an ultimatum giving it a month to come up with detailed proposals to resolved a two-year investigation into complaints that it used its power to block rivals such as Microsoft. The EU's stance on Google marks a sharply different approach to that of US regulators, who last week ended their investigation saying that Google had done nothing, it was not there, and it was broken before it arrived.

The fact that US senators leaned on the FTC to back down because Google makes a lot of money and helped them get elected had nothing to do with the change of heart.  After all that would indicate a corruption within the US political system worthy of a third world country and make that revolution they had look a bit pointless.