The European Commission filed antitrust charges against Google Wednesday, alleging that the company “abused its dominant position” in the Internet search market. The tech giant hit back, however, saying it will respond to the charges in the coming weeks.
In what it called a Statement of Objections, the European Union’s executive arm said Google had “systematically” favored its own comparison shopping product in its general search results pages.Responding to the commission’s announcement, Google said in blog post that it “strongly” disagreed with the EU’s statement of objections and would make its case in the coming weeks.
“While Google may be the most used search engine, people can now find and access information in numerous different ways — and allegations of harm, for consumers and competitors, have proved to be wide of the mark,” Google said.
“If you look at shopping — an area where we have seen a lot of complaints and where we understand the European Commission will focus its Statement of Objections — it’s clear that (a) there’s a ton of competition (including from Amazon and eBay, two of the biggest shopping sites in the world) and (b) Google’s shopping results have not the harmed the competition,” it added.
Google faces fines of as much as $6.6 billion if antitrust charges are proven, and could be forced to reshape its business in Europe.
Full Content: Tech Crunch
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Clifford Chance Expands Global Antitrust Team with New Partner
Dec 6, 2024 by
CPI
Spain’s Financial Regulator Awaits Antitrust Decision on BBVA’s Hostile Bid for Sabadell
Dec 5, 2024 by
CPI
RealPage Seeks Dismissal of DOJ Antitrust Suit, Citing Legal Flaws
Dec 5, 2024 by
CPI
EU Competition Chief Signals Potential Google Breakup Amid Big Tech Scrutiny
Dec 5, 2024 by
CPI
Turkey Closes Antitrust Probe into Meta’s Threads-Instagram Practices
Dec 5, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Moats & Entrenchment
Nov 29, 2024 by
CPI
Assessing the Potential for Antitrust Moats and Trenches in the Generative AI Industry
Nov 29, 2024 by
Allison Holt, Sushrut Jain & Ashley Zhou
How SEP Hold-up Can Lead to Entrenchment
Nov 29, 2024 by
Jay Jurata, Elena Kamenir & Christie Boyden
The Role of Moats in Unlocking Economic Growth
Nov 29, 2024 by
CPI
Overcoming Moats and Entrenchment: Disruptive Innovation in Generative AI May Be More Successful than Regulation
Nov 29, 2024 by
Simon Chisholm & Charlie Whitehead