BRUSSELS (AP) – The European Union has opened a new front in its battle with Google, accusing the technology giant of abusing its dominant position in the online search market to benefit its own comparison shopping and advertising business.
The EU’s executive branch is already investigating whether Google gives preferential treatment to its own products in its Android operating system.
“Google has come up with many innovative products that have made a difference to our lives,” EU Antitrust Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said Thursday. “But that doesn’t give Google the right to deny other companies the chance to compete and innovate.”
Vestager said Commission’s preliminary probe has revealed that Google has “unduly favored its own comparison shopping service in its general search result pages.”
This, she added, means that “consumers may not see the most relevant results to their search queries.”