Google has finally responded to antitrust charges filed against the company by the European Union last April.
The European Commission—the executive body of the EU—had been investigating whether Google has been disadvantaging rival shopping comparison sites by prioritizing results from its own Google Shopping service. It has also opened an investigation into whether the company uses its position as the dominant developer of mobile operating systems to discourage carriers from bundling applications from rival companies on Android-based devices. If Google is found guilty of violating EU law it could face fines of up to $6.4 billion—roughly 10 percent of the company's operating revenue.
In a blog post today, Google general counselor Kent Walker wrote that online shopping is more competitive than ever, and that eBay and Amazon—not Google—are the main players and emphasized the importance of personalized advertising to Google's business model and to the overall quality of the service. He did not address the EU's concerns over Android.
"The universe of shopping services has seen an enormous increase in traffic from Google, diverse new players, new investments, and expanding consumer choice," Walker wrote. "Google delivered more than 20 billion free clicks to aggregators over the last decade in the countries covered by the [European Commission’s statement of objections], with free traffic increasing by 227% (and total traffic increasing even more)."
