Relief for Google as US regulators end monopoly probe

WASHINGTON (AFP) - United States (US) regulators closed a lengthy antitrust probe into Google on Thursday, saying there was not enough evidence to show the Internet giant manipulated its search results to harm its competitors.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said it lacked a legal basis to bring a case against Google for allegedly abusing its dominance in Internet searches, but it won commitments from the tech titan to end its "most troubling" practices.

FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz said the action concludes a year-and-a-half-long probe of the world's biggest search and online advertising firm, accused by rivals of abusing its market dominance.

Mr Leibowitz said the FTC "exhaustively investigated allegations that Google unfairly manipulated its search engine results to harm its competitors" but found the evidence did not support an enforcement action.