European regulators, who have been investigating Google since November 2010, said they would end their inquiry if Google offered a ‘detailed commitment text in January 2013’.
If regulators did find Google guilty of breaching anti-trust rules, the company could face fines of up to $4 billion, reports the BBC.
Joaquin Almunia, the EU competition commissioner, said he had ‘decided to continue with the process towards reaching an agreement’ to settle the investigation. ‘Since our preliminary talks with Google started in July, we have substantially reduced our differences,’ he said a statement.  ‘On the basis of the progress made, I now expect Google to come forward with a detailed commitment text in January 2013.’