Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Consumer Watchdog urges EC to issue statement of objections in suit against Google, (Apr 14, 2015)

By Jody Coultas, J.D.

Privacy Policy Director of Consumer Watchdog John M. Simpson urged Margrethe Vestager, the Competition Commissioner for the European Commission, to file a formal Statement of Objections against Google in the Commission’s ongoing antitrust investigation.

Director Simpson argued that, without a formal Statement of Objections, Google will continue its abusive anticompetitive behavior. A Statement of Objections would arguably prompt serious negotiations, and would allow the EC to force changes and levy substantial fines.

Consumer Watchdog felt that Google no longer had any incentive to steer users to other sites, and favors its own services. The group objected to all three previous settlement offers from Google, as they did not resolve the fundamental issue of search manipulation. Any remedy must insist that Google use an objective, nondiscriminatory mechanism to rank and display all search results, even links to Google products, according to the Director.

Director Simpson felt the three failed settlement proposals demonstrated the futility of proceeding without a Statement of Objections.

News: Antitrust