Google is facing more formal charges from European Commission competition regulators over its shopping service, according to unnamed sources cited by the Wall Street Journal. The EC is set to issue a so-called supplementary statement of objections as early as late July, said the sources. The statement is likely to underline accusations that Google uses its market dominance in internet searches to promote its shopping service at the expense of rival offerings, according to one source, adding that the supplementary statement could create a precedent for how the US tech giant operates in other domains, such as its local or travel services.
The EC first filed formal charges against Google in April 2015 for promoting its own comparison-shopping service in search results. It followed this a year later by formally accusing Google of abusing its dominant position in the search and Android market. The Commission has now asked rival companies to permit disclosure to Google of confidential information they submitted in the shopping case. The requests are a typical sign that the EC is set to issue new charges, said the report.
