Google formally rejects EU antitrust charges

Google on Thursday formally rejected EU antitrust charges of unfair promotion of its shopping service and blocking rivals in online search advertising. With the search company's response, EU regulators would rule next year on the issues and possibly impose hefty fines. 

The rebuttal from the US technology giant, in the case, comes six years after the EC opened an investigation after complaints from rivals including Microsoft and a host of European and US rivals.

The EU regulator brought charges of anti-competitive practices against the company in April last year with additional evidence in July this year (See: EU regulators charge Google with blocking rivals in online search advertising). The EC also brought a separate charge sheet against its online search advertising product AdSense for Search at the same time.

In a blog, Google's general counsel, Kent Walker wrote that the accusations were without factual, legal or economic basis, and that the company's actions were driven by its users rather than any plan to squash rivals.

''We never compromised the quality or relevance of the information we displayed. On the contrary, we improved it. That isn't 'favoring' – that's listening to our customers,'' Walker said.

He added that the Commission had failed to consider competition from Amazon, merchant platforms, social media sites, mobile web and online advertising by companies such as Facebook and Pinterest.

However, Google was yet to respond to a third EU antitrust complaint that it used its Android mobile OS as a 'trojan horse' to promote its own products and services at the expense of rivals'.  However, Walker, said in the blog that it would be responding to the Android Statement of Objections ''in the days to come''.

Meanwhile, in a statement provided to TechCrunch on Shopping and AdSense, a Google spokesperson said, ''We remain confident that these claims lack evidence and are wrong on the facts, the law, and the economics. The surest signs of dynamic competition in any market are low prices, abundant choices, and constant innovation - and that's a great description of shopping on the internet today.''