EU to accuse Google of cheating traffic from competitors, The European Union will bring an action against Google related to the search dominance in Europe. The European Union has accused Google of cheating with siphon traffic from competitors for its own sake. This is the first occurrence of what might be called the first antitrust case of the Internet era. Google will eventually be forced to pay a fine and also change its policies related to data traffic.
Conclusions drawn by the EU comes from the investigation for nearly five years. Google has almost completed it without penalty in the case last year but it failed due to objections completion of the ministers in France and Germany.
EU has been investigating Google for five years. Google nearly settled the case without any charges last year but the deal fell apart over objections from ministers in France and Germany and powerful tech groups.
A decision on the charges will be taken up by the college of 28 EU commissioners on Wednesday, the Financial Times said.
A spokesman for the commission refused to comment.
A Google spokeswoman declined to comment.
Technology news outlet Re/code obtained an internal memo in which Google calls the EU decision “very disappointing news.”
Google expects the E.U. Commission for Competition to open up an investigation into Android on Wednesday, according to the memo.
“We have a very strong case,” the memo says.
Google critics applauded the filing of charges.
“The European Commission’s issuance of a Statement of Objections (SO) laying out specific charges against Google would represent a significant step towards ending Google’s anti-competitive practices, which have harmed innovation and consumer choice,” Thomas Vinje, Legal Counsel and Spokesman for FairSearch Europe, said in a written statement. “FairSearch Europe awaits confirmation of Commission action.”
Analysts are taking a wait-and-see approach.
In a report earlier this month, S&P Capital IQ analyst Scott Kessler wrote: “Although we believe Google has been effective at fending off these accusations, we believe such a suit is closer than ever, and see it as a potential notable negative the company. However, we also think Google has some solid defenses and could prevail in court.”
The development comes amid growing concern over the dominance of U.S. tech companies.
The European Union should regulate U.S. Internet giants to allow homegrown companies to become more competitive, the EU’s digital commissioner said in a speech on Tuesday.
Günther Oettinger made the remarks at a major industrial fair in Hannover, Germany.
Conclusions drawn by the EU comes from the investigation for nearly five years. Google has almost completed it without penalty in the case last year but it failed due to objections completion of the ministers in France and Germany.
EU has been investigating Google for five years. Google nearly settled the case without any charges last year but the deal fell apart over objections from ministers in France and Germany and powerful tech groups.
A decision on the charges will be taken up by the college of 28 EU commissioners on Wednesday, the Financial Times said.
A spokesman for the commission refused to comment.
A Google spokeswoman declined to comment.
Technology news outlet Re/code obtained an internal memo in which Google calls the EU decision “very disappointing news.”
Google expects the E.U. Commission for Competition to open up an investigation into Android on Wednesday, according to the memo.
“We have a very strong case,” the memo says.
Google critics applauded the filing of charges.
“The European Commission’s issuance of a Statement of Objections (SO) laying out specific charges against Google would represent a significant step towards ending Google’s anti-competitive practices, which have harmed innovation and consumer choice,” Thomas Vinje, Legal Counsel and Spokesman for FairSearch Europe, said in a written statement. “FairSearch Europe awaits confirmation of Commission action.”
Analysts are taking a wait-and-see approach.
In a report earlier this month, S&P Capital IQ analyst Scott Kessler wrote: “Although we believe Google has been effective at fending off these accusations, we believe such a suit is closer than ever, and see it as a potential notable negative the company. However, we also think Google has some solid defenses and could prevail in court.”
The development comes amid growing concern over the dominance of U.S. tech companies.
The European Union should regulate U.S. Internet giants to allow homegrown companies to become more competitive, the EU’s digital commissioner said in a speech on Tuesday.
Günther Oettinger made the remarks at a major industrial fair in Hannover, Germany.
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