None of the linked articles state any charge of breaking the law. Looks like regulators have done an in-depth investigation and found no evidence and have used the media to cover their ass. All we see are accusations that their shopping search engine used to (or may had have) rank results that they participated in higher, and they had captive agreements with business partners. But where are the specific charges and evidence?
The links states " Google was acting in anti-competitive ways". Leads one to believe that that is not the current situation. With new technology (wonder why we have such long beta services) errors will be made, it's the companies responsibility to create the highest RIO it can. Specifically speaking, if I run a shopping service wouldn't I want to present the most profitable product first? If I am not participating how will I assure future survival and with a publicly traded company, how does this protect the investor?
I don't buy excuse that they are too scared to litigate or prosecute a violation of law. If it's true, the regulatory agency needs to be replaced, isn't their primary function to uphold the law?
Recent media coverage seems like, "Hey boss we took the whole fleet fishing for the past few months, spent a bunch of money and came back with an empty hull". The recent media coverage seems like smear to me.