Two June 27 Bloomberg Technology articles quoted Brussels antitrust partner Matthew Hall regarding the €2.4 billion ($2.7 billion) fine the European Union issued against Google for alleged antitrust-related offenses.
According to the articles, Google is accused of unfairly skewing its search results to favor itself, to the detriment of smaller comparison-shopping services, allegations Google denies. Both articles, “EU Ruling Puts Google ‘On Parole’ for Years to Come” and “Google Fine Is Small Change Compared With EU’s Bigger Threat,” mention other antitrust claims Google faces regarding its mobile phone software and online advertising services and the company’s maps, travel and restaurant reviews.
In responding to these claims, regulators would need to evaluate each situation (e.g., maps or Google images) separately to account for the characteristics of each market. “All of the businesses closely connected to search must be at risk,” Hall noted in the articles.