Google is accused by both American and European regulators of adjusting its lucrative search algorithm to favour its own products and disadvantage those of its competitors. The company claims that it is simply trying to provide consumers with the best experience possible.
Ms Wilkinson, a partner at Paul, Weiss in Washington, was part of the team that prosecuted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. David Broder, a law partner at K&L Gates in New York and an expert on antitrust law, told the New York Times that her hiring “increases the likelihood that there will be a case”.
Google has been under international pressure recently, paying a fine on a separate matter over Google Streetview to the FTC yesterday and accused by European regulators of violations of a range of regulations. The EC report is expected before the summer recess.
Experts in both the US and Brussels say that proving Google’s motivations for adjusting search results will be key to each case. Google argues that it makes routine changes but that they are only ever to enhance users’ experience of its services.