EU anti-trust regulators aim to slap a hefty fine on Alphabet Inc unit Google over its shopping service before the summer break in August, two people familiar with the matter said, setting the stage for two other cases involving the US company.
The European Commission’s decision will come after a seven-year investigation into the world’s most popular Internet search engine triggered by scores of complaints from US and European rivals.
The EU competition authority in April 2015 accused Google of distorting Internet search results to favor its shopping service, harming both rivals and consumers.
The commission and Google declined to comment.
The US company has in the past rejected the charges, saying that regulators ignored competition from online retailers Amazon.com Inc and eBay Inc.
Fines for companies found guilty of breaching EU anti-trust rules can reach 10 percent of their global turnover, which in Google’s case could be about US$9 billion of its turnover last year.
Apart from the fine, the commission is to tell Google to stop its alleged anti-competitive practices, but it is not clear what measures it will order the company to adopt to ensure that rivals get equal treatment in Internet shopping results.
The regulator could set out general principles or specific instructions for Google to follow, an observer said.
The commission’s tough line is in sharp contrast with the US Federal Trade Commission, which settled its own Web search case with the company in 2013 by requiring Google to stop “scrapping” reviews and other data from rival Web sites for its own products.
Google made three unsuccessful attempts to settle the case with the previous EU commissioner for competition Joaquin Almunia in a bid to stave off a possible fine and a finding of wrongdoing.
However, Almunia’s successor, Margrethe Vestager, has shown no willingness to settle with Google.
The company has also been charged with using its Android mobile operating system to squeeze out rivals and with blocking competitors in online search advertising related to its “AdSense for Search” platform.
The platform allows Google to act as an intermediary for Web sites such as online retailers, telecoms operators or newspapers.
The commission has warned of massive fines in both cases.
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