Google vs the EU’s antitrust complaints – The Verge

Google fined a record €2.4 billion by the EU for manipulating search results

2017-06-27T05:48:37-04:00

Google has been hit with a record-breaking €2.42 billion ($2.7 billion) fine by the European Union for breaking antitrust law. The decision follows a seven-year investigation into the US company's search algorithms, which ended with the judgement that Google had "abused its dominant position by systematically favoring" its own shopping comparison service. Today's fine is the largest antitrust judgement handed out by the executive body of the EU, the European Commission, topping a €1 billion penalty given to Intel in 2009.

"What Google has done is illegal."

The primary target of the case is Google Shopping, a price-comparison feature built in …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Google to EU: Android can’t be a monopoly when the iPhone exists

2016-11-10T10:07:25-05:00

Android N nexus 6

Android is the crown jewel in Google's vast empire of software and web services, and its unprecedented success has inevitably attracted the scrutiny of European Union regulators. Today, Google steps up its public efforts to diminish European concerns over its mobile market dominance, and it's doing it with the power of GIFs.

You don't think we offer choice, says Google, but have you seen how little choice iPhone buyers are getting? All the preloaded apps on an iPhone come from Apple. 39 out of 47 preloaded apps on Windows 10 phones come from Microsoft. But less than a third of preloaded apps on Samsung's Galaxy S7 come from Google. So what' …

Read the full story at The Verge.

EU goes after Google’s moneymaking ad business in new antitrust complaints

2016-07-14T06:15:16-04:00

The European Union has a fresh target in its antitrust battle with Google: the company's lucrative ad business. This morning, EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager filed a statement of objections accusing the US company of abusing its control of the digital ad world. The complaint specifically targets AdSense, a service Google offers to other firms to help them place adverts on third-party websites. Supplementary objections to an existing antitrust complaint against Google's shopping services were also filed.

Google faces fines of up to 10 percent of annual revenue

As with other ongoing antitrust complaints, Google faces fines of up …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Google reportedly faces record fine for abusing search monopoly in Europe

2016-05-15T13:00:03-04:00

Google may soon be hit with a record fine by the European Commission, as it seeks to punish Google and discourage other tech giants from taking advantage of their dominant market position. The Telegraph reports that the commission is currently planning to issue a 3 billion euro fine (about $3.39 billion USD) after finding that Google abused its search monopoly. Its highest fine to date is 1.1 billion euros, in 2009.

The specific issue at hand is that Google is said to have illegally promoted its own shopping results over those of competitors. Google has denied wrongdoing, and The Telegraph points out that it could choose to fight the fine. I …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Why the EU is going after Google and not Apple

2016-04-25T11:12:28-04:00

On April 20th, 2016, the European Commission announced that its year-long investigation of Android had led it to believe that Google might be violating European Union antitrust laws. The Commission issued a statement of objections to Google and Alphabet (Google's parent company), launching a formal antitrust case against them, along with a brief public statement that represents the best window into what is going on.

The EU believes that Google holds a dominant position in three related markets, and that it is using that position to distort competition. The EU claims that Google limits access to key aspects of the Android ecosystem by insist …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Why are EU regulators going after Android?

2016-04-21T09:43:10-04:00

The European Commission (EC) has this week formalized its antitrust investigation into Google's Android operating system in a set of objections sent to the Mountain View company. At issue is Google's dominance of the European smartphone market and the ways that the company is exploiting that position to promote its services and apps.

This opens up a second major front of contention between Google and the EC, which is already investigating the US company's prioritization of shopping search results.

What is the European Commission objecting to?

The vast majority of Android smartphones sold in the EU ship out with Google's own web search pre …

Read the full story at The Verge.

EU lodges formal antitrust complaint against Android

2016-04-20T05:34:11-04:00

The European Union has notified Google of formal antitrust charges against the company relating to its Android mobile operating system. The charge sheet focuses on the company's prioritizing of its own services on Android devices, including practices that mean that Google Search is "pre-installed and set as the default, or exclusive, search service on most Android devices sold in Europe." The EU's investigation, which was originally opened last April, claims that this and other measures prevent companies from effectively competing with Android.

"Google has abused its dominant position."

"Our preliminary view is that Google has abused its domin …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Google says EU antitrust charges don’t take into account that search is free

2015-11-04T06:05:01-05:00

Earlier this year, the European Union accused Google of monopolistic practices, alleging that, among other things, it unfairly prioritized its comparison shopping service when users searched for things to buy. Google has since commented on these charges - which could theoretically result in a fine of $6.6 billion - but has now issued a formal 130-page response, suggesting that the company is settling in for a long fight.

"No trading relationship exists between Google and its users."

According to a report from Reuters, the response marshals a number of legal arguments, including the assertion that Google can't take advantage of its customers …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Google responds to EU charges that its search results are anti-competitive

2015-08-27T12:15:40-04:00

Following the European Union's formal accusation of antitrust practices by Google, the company has now officially responded. Not surprisingly, Google is arguing that the "allegations are incorrect," and that its search practices haven't harmed consumers.

Google's General Counsel is attempting to parry the accusations

The EU's Statement of Objections against Google accused the company of using a monopoly on search - it owns around a 90 percent share of the market in Europe - to unfairly trounce competitors and ultimately harm consumers. The EU's case focuses specifically on Google's use of services like Google Shopping, which it claims receiv …

Read the full story at The Verge.

EU formally accuses Google of monopolistic search practices

2015-04-15T06:06:37-04:00

The European Union has formally accused Google of illegal, monopolistic practices, stating that the American company abused its position as market leader by prioritizing its own services in search results and diverting traffic away from its competitors. The company could be fined up to 10 percent of its yearly earnings or as much as $6 billion. The EU also announced today that it was launching a further investigation into the Android operating system which could result in additional fines.

"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 ru …

Read the full story at The Verge.