Google ‘abusing’ its online dominance, EU says

The European Commission on Wednesday filed an antitrust complaint against Google, saying the prevalent online search engine favors its own products when people comparison shop.

European Union competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement sent to Google: “In the case of Google I am concerned that the company has given an unfair advantage to its own comparison shopping service, in breach of EU antitrust rules. Google now has the opportunity to convince the Commission to the contrary.”

If the investigation finds Google does favor its own products, to the detriment of consumers, the company would face legal consequences and have to change the way it does business in Europe, she said.

The EU also launched an antitrust investigation into Google’s conduct regarding its Android mobile operating system to see if the company hindered the development and market access of other competitive mobile systems.

“Smartphones, tablets and similar devices play an increasing role in many people’s daily lives and I want to make sure the markets in this area can flourish without anticompetitive constraints imposed by any company,” Vestager said.

Google responded by saying use of Google and Android is voluntary, and Android’s open-source operating system actually helps consumers use apps on other phones and home screens.

“And our app distribution agreements make sure that people get a great ‘out of the box’ experience with useful apps right there on the home screen (how many of us could get through our day without maps or email?). This also helps manufacturers of Android devices compete with Apple, Microsoft and other mobile ecosystems that come preloaded with similar baseline apps,” the California-based company said.

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