Google is accused by European Union of violating antitrust laws
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The European Union has accused Google of violating antitrust laws by favoring its own products in Internet searches.
At a news conference on Wednesday, European Union Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said the concern is that Google abuses its dominance to favor its comparison shopping service, Google Shopping, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. The New York Times and the Washington Post also have stories.
The European Union complaint, known as a statement of objections, represents the first formal antitrust charges against Google by any regulator, the Wall Street Journal says.
Google said in a blog post that company officials “respectfully but strongly disagree” with the European Union complaint. The post by Amit Singhal, senior vice president of Google Search, said there is “a ton of competition” and Google’s shopping results have not harmed the competition.
A separate European probe, meanwhile, has been opened to investigate whether Google’s Android operating system for mobile phones relies on anti-competitive deals to gain dominance.
