PRESS STATEMENT - 14.07.2016

Today, the European Commission brought additional antitrust charges against Google, boosting its claim that the search giant has abused its dominant position to favour its own services. The Commission also brought new charges against Google’s advertising business.

Monique Goyens, Director General of The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) commented:

“The European Commission has taken another firm step to ensure that consumers receive fair and unbiased results when searching the web. It is in the interest of millions of internet users that this case is resolved as quickly as possible and that, where confirmed, Google’s anti-competitive practices are brought to an end.

“Consumers expect Google’s search results to be impartial and based solely on relevance. This holds true no matter what they are searching for, be it a digital camera that they want to buy online or a restaurant where to have dinner.

“Google is the entry point to the internet for an overwhelming majority of people when navigating the web. The case brought against Google is of crucial importance to guarantee consumer choice and online innovation”.