Despite the turmoil in Europe from Brexit last week, it’s business as usual for European antitrust regulators as they prepare what could be a third formal antitrust “Statement of Objections” against Google. According to Bloomberg a third complaint, surrounding Google AdWords agreements, is probably on the way:
EU officials sent the search giant’s critics requests to allow their evidence to be shared with Google, said the people, who asked not to be named because the case is private. One request was sent as recently as last week, one person said. Such a move is typically a precursor to a formal EU statement of objections cataloging how a firm may have violated EU antitrust law.
The potential charges come more than five years after the initial investigation was announced. The probe focuses on exclusivity provisions in Google AdWords and search contracts with publishers, which allegedly prohibit them from using other services.
The investigation was dormant for some time and revived earlier this year at the behest of European Commission antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager. Beyond this, Google is contending with two formal antitrust complaints in Europe, involving “search bias” in shopping search results and surrounding app pre-install rules in Android contracts.
Given the information above and the trajectory of the Commission’s moves, it appears that Google will be fighting a third antitrust battle in Europe relatively soon.
Last year Google’s made roughly $75 billion in revenue. The Commission has the power to levy fines of up to 10 percent of global revenues. And though it’s unlikely, it’s hypothetically possible that Google could soon be facing potential exposure of up to $21 billion.
Full Content: The Wall Street Journal
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
EU’s Incoming Competition Head Pushes for Policy Shift to Support ‘European Champions
Sep 19, 2024 by
CPI
Google Challenges $217 Million Legal Fee Demand in Privacy Case
Sep 19, 2024 by
CPI
EU Moves to Enforce Apple’s Compliance with New Market Rules
Sep 19, 2024 by
CPI
California Attorney General Bonta Stands Firm Against Albertsons-Kroger Merger
Sep 19, 2024 by
CPI
New FTC Report Highlights Privacy Risks in Social Media Data Use
Sep 19, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Canada & Mexico
Sep 3, 2024 by
CPI
Competitive Convergence: Mexico’s 30-Year Quest for Antitrust Parity with its Northern Neighbor
Sep 3, 2024 by
Francisco Javier Núñez Melgoza
Competition and Digital Markets in North America: A Comparative Study of Antitrust Investigations in Mexico and the United States
Sep 3, 2024 by
Julio Garcia
Recent Antitrust Development in Mexico: COFECE’s Preliminary Report on Amazon and Mercado Libre
Sep 3, 2024 by
Alejandra Palacios Prieto
The Cost of Making COFECE Disappear
Sep 3, 2024 by
Mateo Fernández