EU Accuses Google of Search 'Abuse'

The European Union has accused Google over its alleged anti-competitive behaviour, BBC reports.

The competition commissioner said she had issued a “statement of objection”, stating that the firm’s promotion of its own shopping links amounted to an abuse of its dominance in search.

Margrethe Vestager said Google now had 10 weeks to respond.

She added that she had also launched an investigation into Google’s Android operating system.

And the commissioner said the EU would continue to monitor other activities by Google that its rivals had complained about.

It follows a five-year investigation into the company and could ultimately lead to billions of euros of fines.

Google has yet to give an official response, but has told its staff that it has a “very strong case”.

Google accounts for more than a 90 per cent of EU-based web searches, something the EU described as a “dominant” position.