EURACTIV logo

Report: Commission to press antitrust charges against Google

EURACTIV.com with Reuters

02-04-2015

[Shutterstock]

[Shutterstock]

Europe’s competition regulator is preparing the groundwork to file charges against US search giant Google, in an antitrust investigation over the next few weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday (1 April), citing a person familiar with the matter.

The European Commission is asking companies that filed complaints against Google for permission to publish some of the information they submitted confidentially, the newspaper said, citing several people familiar with the requests.

Antitrust experts stated that the requests were a strong indication that formal antitrust charges were being prepared in the case.

Google was not immediately available to comment.

The Bay Area-based technology company has been engaged in a five-year-old antitrust investigation with the European Union that has stalled multiple times and caused a political uproar.

While European Union lawmakers overwhelmingly backed a motion in November urging anti-trust regulators to break up Google, the US Mission to the European Union had suggested that politicians should not influence the inquiry.

A panel of experts appointed by Google to advise it on how to implement EU’s “right to be forgotten” ruling, had suggested in February that the links be removed only from websites in Europe.

>> Read: Google leans towards EU-only ‘right to be forgotten’

European privacy regulators, however, want Internet search engines such as Google and Microsoft’s Bing to scrub results globally, not just in Europe.

Background

The European Court of Justice ruled on 13 May 2014 that Internet search giant Google could be forced to remove links to online content that breaches EU privacy laws.

The ECJ ruled that Google should, under certain circumstances, edit or remove its Internet search results, backing the EU's drive to introduce a "right to be forgotten" on the Internet.

>> Read: EU court ruling opens door for ‘right to be forgotten’ on the Internet

European regulators are now working on guidelines for appeals from people whose requests to remove information has been turned down by search engines such as Google or Microsoft's Bing.

Google says it has received over 120,000 requests from across Europe to remove from its search results everything from serious criminal records, embarrassing photos and negative press stories.

The May ruling from Europe's top court sparked a lively debate between free speech advocates who say it will lead to a whitewashing of the past, and privacy campaigners who say it simply allows people to limit the visibility of some personal information.

>> Read: EU preparing guidelines for 'right to be forgotten' complaints

Further Reading

EURACTIV's editorial content is independent from the views of our sponsors.

Do you value EURACTIV’s reporting? We need your support.

Dear reader,

Media is a pillar of democracy – as long as it can function properly. Now more than ever we need unbiased, expert information on how and why the European Union functions. This information should not be behind a paywall, and we remain committed to providing our content for free.

We know our readers value our reporting. We know journalism that covers the EU in a clear, unbiased way is critical to the future of the European Union.

And we know your support is critical for ensuring this independent and free journalism.

Don’t take the media sector for granted. It was already fragile before the coronavirus pandemic. And as people can’t meet, media companies have lost a major source of revenue: events. EURACTIV is supported by a mix of revenue streams including sponsorships, online advertising, EU-funded projects, and policy debates. All of these sources of revenue are impacted by the current crisis. 

 

While media struggles, disinformation thrives. We are already seeing fearmongering, fake news about the EU response, and increased threats to freedom of the press.


For more than two decades we have provided free, independent, multilingual reporting on the European Union. We continue to believe in Europe, and we hope you do too. 

Your financial support at this critical time will allow our network of newsrooms across Europe to continue their work when Europe needs it most.

Support EURACTIV Media Network for Europe and CONTRIBUTE today. 

Topics  

Subscribe to our newsletters

Subscribe
Contribute