EU Fine Against Google Is Imminent -- WSJ
June 27 2017 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Natalia Drozdiak
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the US print
edition of The Wall Street Journal (June 27, 2017).
BRUSSELS -- The European Union's antitrust watchdog will as soon
as Tuesday hit Alphabet Inc.'s Google with a fine of more than EUR1
billion ($1.12 billion) and demand changes to the company's
business practices, according to people familiar with the
matter.
The European Commission, which has for roughly seven years been
investigating Google for breaching the bloc's antitrust rules in
various areas, is poised to announce as soon as Tuesday that Google
has manipulated search results to favor its own comparison-shopping
service. Other formal EU probes into Google's behaviors with its
Android mobile-operating service and AdSense advertising service
are continuing.
The antitrust penalty against Google is expected to surpass the
EU's previous record fine imposed on a company for allegedly
abusing its market position: EUR1.06 billion against Intel Corp. in
2009.
"We continue to engage constructively with the European
Commission and we believe strongly that our innovations in online
shopping have been good for shoppers, retailers and competition,"
said Google spokesman Al Verney.
The EU will also likely demand Google give rival comparison
shopping services such as Foundem.co.uk and Kelkoo.com Ltd. equal
treatment in its search results. Complainants in the case allege
that Google both demotes competitors' offerings in search rankings
and artificially inserts its own service in a box above all other
search results, regardless of their relevance.
A decision in the comparison-shopping case could create
precedents for Google's behavior with its other search services,
such as travel and maps, which the EU is also scrutinizing.
The move against another powerful American company is likely to
stoke accusations across the Atlantic that the EU
disproportionately targets American companies, especially tech
firms, to protect its own European-grown industries. The European
Commission has already hit Apple Inc., Facebook Inc. and Starbucks
Corp. with various decisions for breaching the bloc's competition
rules, hitting their financial accounts. The regulator also
continues to probe McDonald's Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. for
allegedly not paying enough taxes in Europe.
In the Google case, some large U.S. companies, including Yelp
Inc., complained alongside European firms to the EU about the
company's behavior in the hopes that Brussels would take
action.
Microsoft Corp. initially also took part but hasn't been
lobbying against Google in Brussels after the two companies ended a
long-running feud last year.
News Corp, owner of The Wall Street Journal, has also formally
complained to the EU about Google but over the company's handling
of news articles on its search service.
U.S. antitrust authorities in early 2013 decided to end their
own investigation into the company after Google agreed to some
voluntary changes to its practices.
Write to Natalia Drozdiak at natalia.drozdiak@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 27, 2017 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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