Google responds to EC’s Statement of Objections over “anti-competitive” activities
Google has today (27 August) filed its response to the European Commission’s Statement of Objections (SO) and charges that the company has violated antitrust laws. Kent Walker, Google SVP & General Counsel, has also posted a statement on the matter on the company’s BlogSpot.
“We’ve taken seriously the concerns in the European Commission’s Statement of Objections (SO) that our innovations are anti-competitive,” said Walker. “The response we filed today shows why we believe those allegations are incorrect, and why we believe that Google increases choice for European consumers and offers valuable opportunities for businesses of all sizes.”
Walker continued: “The SO says that Google’s displays of paid ads from merchants (and, previously, of specialized groups of organic search results) ‘diverted’ traffic away from shopping services. But the SO doesn’t back up that claim, doesn’t counter the significant benefits to consumers and advertisers, and doesn’t provide a clear legal theory to connect its claims with its proposed remedy.
“Our response provides evidence and data to show why the SO’s concerns are unfounded. We use traffic analysis to rebut claims that our ad displays and specialized organic results harmed competition by preventing shopping aggregators from reaching consumers. Economic data spanning more than a decade, an array of documents, and statements from complainants all confirm that product search is robustly competitive. And we show why the SO is incorrect in failing to consider the impact of major shopping services like Amazon and eBay, who are the largest players in this space.”
Wallker concluded his blog by saying: “We believe that the SO’s preliminary conclusions are wrong as a matter of fact, law, and economics. We look forward to discussing our response and supporting evidence with the Commission, in the interest of promoting user choice and open competition.”
There is a great deal at stake. If the charges are upheld, sources report that the EC could levy a fine of up to a tenth of Google’s annual sales.
