White Papers

  • How Search WorksFebruary 14, 2013

    An output of the ICOMP Search Working Group, this paper looks at the mechanisms behind search engines and aims to demystify the processes involved.

  • How Google Has Monopolised Online Mapping & Listings ServicesNovember 15, 2012

    Google continues to pursue and has indeed accelerated its anticompetitive strategy to secure the success of its own services, in particular Google Maps and Google+ Local, at the expense of competing online mapping and listings companies.

  • Competition in MobileOctober 20, 2011

    As the Internet goes mobile, so too go online search and advertising. The volume of search queries and search ad revenues generated on mobile devices has increased massively in the last few years and is expected to skyrocket in the next 2-3 years. This paper examines the different ways in which market dominance impedes competition for the wider mobile ecosystem.

  • A Look Back at Google’s Acquisition of AdMobOctober 20, 2011

    This paper takes a fresh look at Google’s acquisition of AdMob and the state of competition in mobile advertising today. It reviews concerns raised at the time and explores whether the Commission’s prediction—that other mobile advertising networks would be “well-positioned to compete vigorously” against Google despite the deal—proved accurate.

  • Google Under the Antitrust MicroscopeOctober 20, 2011

    In recent years, competition policy in the online sphere has turned its attention to the behaviour of one online giant: Google. Google’s market share in online search and search advertising has grown to 83.62% worldwide and is over 90% in some parts of the EU. Although dominance alone is not an abuse, a dominant enterprise is legally obliged to ensure that its behaviour does not impair competition. This paper looks at where Google is being investigated as a result of many complaints that it has failed to adhere to this special responsibility.

  • What you dont know can hurt you; How market concentration threatens internet diversityAugust 16, 2011

    In this report The Australia Institute seeks to raise awareness about why a concentration of market power online is just as great a threat to diversity as in any other industry. The Australia Institute has incorporated the results of a survey, commissioned by ICOMP, in which over 1000 Australian consumers’ attitudes towards internet use and online competition were examined in July 2011.

  • Anatomy of Search Results: The Widening Reality GapJuly 22, 2011

    An output of the ICOMP Search Working Group, this presentation illustrates the widening ‘reality gap’ between what users think they are getting in search results and what they actually see in front of them. Analysing the transformation of the anatomy of search results over a 10 year period, it offers striking evidence of the diminishing page real estate devoted to organic search results by the dominant search engine and assesses the impact of this on consumers.

  • ICOMP submission to the Australian Book Industry Strategy GroupApril 26, 2011

    This is ICOMP’s submission to the Australian Government’s Book Industry Strategy Group’s (BISG) public consultation on the impact of digital technologies on the publishing sector. ICOMP is keen to ensure that Australia continues to enjoy a strong presence in the digital book market, while ensuring the Australian book industry be more efficient and globally competitive. <br><br> The ICOMP submission recommends to the BISG to consider undertaking additional steps that will help strengthen the Australian online publishing industry and protect the rights of authors in a digital world. <br><br> More information on the BISG can be found <a href="http://www.innovation.gov.au/Industry/BooksandPrinting/BookIndustryStrategyGroup/Pages/default.aspx">here</a>.

  • The Perils of Dominance: Exploring the Economics of Search in the Information SocietyMarch 18, 2011

    Funded by ICOMP and written by Martin Cave, Centennial Professor at the London School of Economics, and Howard Williams, Associate at the Oxford Internet Institute, this paper argues that the dominant position held by Google warrants much greater public scrutiny and that the competition authorities are well placed to lead this scrutiny. The benefits of an open and competitive Internet are clear for all, but this historical precedent and assumption of competition is an increasingly weak and unsafe presumption with which to view the continuing evolution of the Internet.

  • Why Search MattersMarch 18, 2011

    Anyone who cares about Europe’s digital and economic future should understand the role of search engines in the online economy and how competition in search affects European businesses and consumers. To help shed some light on these issues, this paper provides an overview of the basics of search and a picture of the state of competition in search today.

  • ICOMP response to UK Independent Review of Intellectual Property and GrowthMarch 7, 2011

    ICOMP has published its written submission to Professor Ian Hargreaves’ Independent Review of IP and Growth (The Review). We see a balanced, fair IP framework as key to the continued growth of the Internet as an engine of the economy. In order to succeed therefore, the Review must distil from a no doubt complex range of submissions a workable, sustainable vision for IP rights in the 21st Century. We believe the Review should be guided by the following core principles and outcomes against which all proposals should be measured: 1) The IP system should promote the creation and availability of quality content, without which the Internet could not survive. 2) The IP framework should support the “virtuous cycle” of the Internet that benefits creators, online services and intermediaries, infrastructure providers, and consumers alike. 3) Given the inherently cross-border nature of the Internet and online commerce, the UK should maintain an IP framework that is harmonised with other EU member states.

  • Imperatives for a Healthy, Secure and Competitive InternetOctober 6, 2009

    The first copy of the ‘Internet Imperatives', a charter produced by ICOMP highlighting some of the key issues facing the digital economy, was presented to EU Commissioner Viviane Reding today at a lunch debate in the European Parliament hosted by Alexander Alvaro, the German Liberal MEP who is one of the Parliament's most outspoken experts on internet issues.

  • Imperativos Para una Internet Saludable, Seguar y CompetitivaOctober 6, 2009

    La primera copia de los "Imperativos de Internet", documento realizado por ICOMP que destaca algunas de las cuestiones clave a los que se enfrenta la economía digital, ha sido presentada hoy a la Comisaria de la UE, Viviane Reding, en el almuerzo-debate celebrado en el Parlamento Europeo y organizada por Alexander Alvaro, diputado liberal alemán del Parlamento Europeo y uno de sus expertos más destacados en cuestiones relacionadas con Internet.