Google will today be accused by Brussels of illegally abusing its dominance of search in Europe, a step that ultimately could force it to change its business model and pay hefty fines.
Margrethe Vestager, the EU's competition commissioner, is to say that the US group will soon be served with a charge sheet alleging that it breached antitrust rules by diverting traffic from rivals in order to favour its own in-house services, according to two people familiar with the case.
Serving Google with a so-called statement of objections will be the opening salvo in one of the defining antitrust cases of the internet era. It could prove as epic as the decade-long battle with Microsoft that ultimately cost the company more than €2 billion in fines.
The European Commission’s move comes after a torrid five-year investigation that Google came close to settling without charges last year. The draft deal collapsed after fierce objections were raised by ministers in France and Germany and some of the continent’s most powerful telecoms and media groups.
The EU’s antitrust case comes amid a growing European backlash against Silicon Valley. Once lauded for their innovative spirit, big US tech groups have come under mounting criticism in Europe over their market dominance and the way they handle personal data, especially in the wake of the US internet surveillance scandal.
A decision on charges is to be taken by the college of 28 EU commissioners today. Some are concerned that Ms Vestager has, according to one insider, restructured and narrowed the case she inherited from her predecessor Joaquín Almunia. As well as search issues, the investigation has looked at allegations that Google illegally scrapes content from rivals, locks in some publishers to using Google search ads and makes it hard for advertisers to move campaigns to rival search engines.
Although Google has faced antitrust questions on three continents for several years, the EU move is the first time that the company has formally been accused of wrongdoing. It will be given 10 weeks to respond and will have the opportunity to call a hearing to make its defence.
Ultimately, Brussels has the power to levy fines of up to 10 per cent of Google’s global turnover and can impose far-reaching curbs on its business practices.
Almost 20 complainants against Google want the search engine to abide by strict rules that ensure that its formula treats its own services – providing results for travel, shopping and maps – no differently from rivals’. Google and the commission declined to comment.
On top of the pressure from Brussels, Google is also under scrutiny in France where lawmakers are considering an initiative that would force it to hand over its secret formula for ranking websites. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2015
