Google is locked in a six-year battle with Europe's antitrust officials. And the stakes for both sides are getting higher.
For Google, Europe's lengthy effort to rein in how the search giant operates in the region represents a potential threat to the billions of dollars it earns annually from selling online advertising and other, often dominant, digital services across the Continent and beyond.
For Margrethe Vestager, the Danish politician turned European competition chief, the three cases against Google make up the most public - and longstanding - antitrust cases in the region. And they will very likely define Europe's at times frosty relationship with Google and other American tech giants like Facebook, Amazon and Apple for years to come.
"For the European Commission, it's a case of Russian roulette," said Christian Bergqvist, an associate professor of competition law at the University of Copenhagen. "If they lose or merely settle the case, they will look weak. They have to be seen as doing something to stop Google."
The latest twist in this episode is expected to begin on Thursday, when Google officially starts responding to European charges that it has hamstrung competitors and limited consumer choice.
The separate but closely linked rebuttals to European claims are expected to be submitted to competition authorities in Brussels in quick succession over the next few weeks.
The cases relate to Android, Google's mobile operating system, some of its dominant online search services and some of its advertising products. While each response will be couched in legalese, Google's main argument is that its business practices do not fall afoul of the region's tough antitrust rules and that competitors can freely offer their own rival digital services to Europe's more than 500 million consumers.
"Our search engine is designed to provide the most relevant results and most useful ads for any query," Kent Walker, Google's general counsel, wrote in a blog post when previously rebutting some of Europe's antitrust charges. "Users and advertisers benefit when we do this well. So does Google."
Not surprisingly, the company's detractors - small European start-ups, some local politicians and American heavy hitters like Oracle - do not agree.
"Google has taken its best shot, but the European Commission has decided that it's still on the right track," said Thomas Vinje, a lawyer for FairSearch Europe, a group representing the Google rivals that have filed complaints against the company's perceived dominance.
"I don't doubt Google feels like it has a strong defence. But that's what other previously dominant companies thought, too," he added.
Whatever happens, Google's battle in Europe will not end overnight. European officials must first review the company's rebuttals, and a final decision in any of the cases is not expected until midway through 2017, at the earliest.
If found to have breached the region's rules, Google faces fines totalling up to $7.5 billion, or 10 per cent of its annual revenue, and may be forced to change how it operates in the 28-member bloc. While any antitrust fine is not expected to reach the maximum possible, the company is likely to appeal any European ruling, further lengthening the process.
Yet it is this death-by-a-thousand-cuts regulatory limbo that arguably represents the biggest headache for Google.
GOOGLE'S ANTITRUST BATTLES
For Google, Europe's lengthy effort to rein in how the search giant operates in the region represents a potential threat to the billions of dollars it earns annually from selling online advertising and other, often dominant, digital services across the Continent and beyond.
For Margrethe Vestager, the Danish politician turned European competition chief, the three cases against Google make up the most public - and longstanding - antitrust cases in the region. And they will very likely define Europe's at times frosty relationship with Google and other American tech giants like Facebook, Amazon and Apple for years to come.
"For the European Commission, it's a case of Russian roulette," said Christian Bergqvist, an associate professor of competition law at the University of Copenhagen. "If they lose or merely settle the case, they will look weak. They have to be seen as doing something to stop Google."
The latest twist in this episode is expected to begin on Thursday, when Google officially starts responding to European charges that it has hamstrung competitors and limited consumer choice.
The separate but closely linked rebuttals to European claims are expected to be submitted to competition authorities in Brussels in quick succession over the next few weeks.
The cases relate to Android, Google's mobile operating system, some of its dominant online search services and some of its advertising products. While each response will be couched in legalese, Google's main argument is that its business practices do not fall afoul of the region's tough antitrust rules and that competitors can freely offer their own rival digital services to Europe's more than 500 million consumers.
"Our search engine is designed to provide the most relevant results and most useful ads for any query," Kent Walker, Google's general counsel, wrote in a blog post when previously rebutting some of Europe's antitrust charges. "Users and advertisers benefit when we do this well. So does Google."
Not surprisingly, the company's detractors - small European start-ups, some local politicians and American heavy hitters like Oracle - do not agree.
"Google has taken its best shot, but the European Commission has decided that it's still on the right track," said Thomas Vinje, a lawyer for FairSearch Europe, a group representing the Google rivals that have filed complaints against the company's perceived dominance.
"I don't doubt Google feels like it has a strong defence. But that's what other previously dominant companies thought, too," he added.
Whatever happens, Google's battle in Europe will not end overnight. European officials must first review the company's rebuttals, and a final decision in any of the cases is not expected until midway through 2017, at the earliest.
If found to have breached the region's rules, Google faces fines totalling up to $7.5 billion, or 10 per cent of its annual revenue, and may be forced to change how it operates in the 28-member bloc. While any antitrust fine is not expected to reach the maximum possible, the company is likely to appeal any European ruling, further lengthening the process.
Yet it is this death-by-a-thousand-cuts regulatory limbo that arguably represents the biggest headache for Google.
©2016 The New York Times News Service
GOOGLE'S ANTITRUST BATTLES
- April 2015: Europe's antitrust officials accused Google of favouring some of its own search services linked to online shopping over those of rivals.
- April 2016: The region's antitrust authorities filed charges against Android, claiming Google unfairly required cellphone makers to preinstall its services and offered manufacturers improper financial incentives to favour Google's products.
- July 2016: Europe's competition watchdog said Google had abused its dominant position when offering some of its online advertising tools as part of search services on third-party websites.
- Google's Response: Google denies any wrongdoing in the cases. It says consumers can freely use alternative online search products, rivals are welcome to offer their own digital services that compete directly with those of Google and smartphone makers are not required to use its digital services as part of Android.