The full range of potential punishments isn’t clear, but Google is considering banning them, according to WSJ sources and leaked documents. Google already took down five IAC extensions, but there are considerably more that could go down in the face of a ban.
Google spokesperson Scott Westover said the company was “reviewing” IAC’s remaining extensions, but hadn’t made decisions as to what to do next.
IAC’s Valerie Combs, however, accused Google of being anti-competitive. The spokeswoman claimed Google had abused its status to shrink its browser business to the “last small corner of the internet” and was trying to finish it off. IAC owns the MyWay search engine, although the site uses ads and results from Google.
The dispute comes at a sensitive moment for Google. It’s facing a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit over allegations it abused its leading positions in ads and search. While this won’t necessarily skew the lawsuit, IAC might point to the DOJ case as support.