Consumer Watchdog Asks European Competition Commission To File Formal Charges Against Google
European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager should “file formal charges against Google in the European Commission’s ongoing antitrust investigation of the Internet giant,” a Consumer Watchdog news release said Tuesday. Formal charges are necessary to ensure consumer welfare, the news release…
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said, saying “three unacceptable proposals” from former Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia “did not resolve the fundamental issue of search manipulation.” In a letter to Vestager, Consumer Watchdog Privacy Project Director John Simpson wrote that “without a formal Statement of Objections to motivate Google, the company simply engages in lengthy settlement talks and continues its abusive anticompetitive behavior. If nothing else, a Statement of Objections will concentrate Google executives’ minds and prompt serious negotiations,” he said. “If the Internet giant fails to give an adequate response, the path is open to force changes and levy substantial fines,” Simpson said. Consumer welfare “must be the ultimate test of any antitrust settlement,” Consumer Watchdog said, saying the “only way to deal with this conflict is to remove it.” Simpson said Google’s different services and assets need to be separated, and at a minimum “any remedy must insist that Google use an objective, nondiscriminatory mechanism to rank and display all search results -- including links to Google products.” Google didn't comment.