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Google just denied accusations from the European Commission that it's anti-competitive
(Thomson Reuters)
Euro coins are seen in front of a Google logo in this picture illustration taken in Zenica
Google has just rejected the charges from the European Union's European Commission. In a new blog post, the tech company said they disagree with the EU's allegations that they're anti-competitive.
The EU says that the ads Google uses on its search results divert traffic away from shopping services, but Google says that the EU has no evidence for that claim. Google, with its own data, found that "product search is robustly competitive."
"We don’t think this format is anti-competitive. On the contrary, showing ads based on structured data provided by merchants demonstrably improves ad quality and makes it easier for consumers to find what they’re looking for," Kent Walker, Google's SVP & General Counsel wrote in a blog post. "We show these ad groups where we’ve always shown ads -- to the right and at the top of organic results — and we use specialized algorithms to maximize their relevance for users. Data from users and advertisers confirms they like these formats. That’s not “favoring” — that’s giving our customers and advertisers what they find most useful."
The EU’s charges, filed in April, allege that Google skews its search results to prefer its own services. That is to say, if a user searches Google for a shopping site, the search results are biased in favor of Google Shopping.
Google and the EU approached a settlement a year ago, but the deal fell through. In June, the EU filed a 100-page charge against Google for antitrust violations, alleging antitrust violations for search terms that vary from local services to travel services. Margrethe Vestager, the EU's antitrust chief, can fine companies up to 10% of their annual revenue.
Google has a 92% share of online searches in Europe.
The remedies that the EU suggested to Google's alleged violations are "peculiar and problematic," Walker wrote. The EU suggested that Google from other companies in their own advertising space. Google says that would harm the relevance and quality of its own results, and that it isn't legally justifiable to force the company the "duty to supply its own rivals."
"Our search engine is designed to provide the most relevant results and most useful ads for any query," Walker argues. "The more relevant the ads -- the better they perform in connecting potential buyers and sellers -- the more value they generate for everyone."
Walker said that recent trends indicate that the search industry is "competitive and dynamic." In the countries covered in the EU's allegations, Google delivered over 20 billion free clicks to competing shopping services, such as Amazon, eBay, and local shopping services.
Google was initially supposed to file its response by August 17, but was granted a two-week extension. The EU said that their reorganization into Alphabet would not affect the case.
In April, the European Union opened a separate antitrust investigation into Google, to find out if the company is abusing its dominant position for Android. Android has 68% of smartphone marketshare in Europe. The EU wants to find out if Google hinders the development of rival services by preinstalling Google apps, like GMail, on Android phones.
The Federal Trade Commission considered suing Google for antitrust violations in 2012. The company allegedly used rival company's content for its own websites, including using Amazon's product reviews and rankings. When Amazon told Google to stop, Google threatened to remove Amazon from their search engine. The FTC voted not to pursue the case in 2013, but ever since details were leaked earlier this year, they've been pressured to reopen it.
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