The EU sent Google a statement of objections in April, and the company has ten weeks to respond. A group of the complainants in the case, which includes Microsoft, Expedia and other web publishers, is also reviewing the objections. The European Commission "intends to set the fine at a level which will be sufficient to ensure deterrence," the EU regulator said in the document. The regulator "considers that, based on the facts described in this statement of objections, Google committed the infringement intentionally or, at the very least, negligently."
Fines could be based on factors including revenue from Google’s AdWords services relating to clicks from European users; revenue from its price-comparison website; and revenue from product queries on its search engine, the commission said in the complaint. Aside from financial penalties, the commission threatened to impose changes on Google’s business practices. These may include a demand to use the same underlying processes and methods when ranking rival price-comparison websites on its search page. Google would have to use the same display features and tell users clearly where results originate.
The commission declined to comment on the content of the statement of objections.
