Google don turn Microsoft finish. Is this the end?
BRUSSELS—Europe’s antitrust regulator has decided to file formal charges against Google Inc. for violating the bloc’s antitrust laws, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, stepping up a five-year investigation that is set to become the biggest competition battle in Brussels since the European Union’s pursuit of Microsoft Corp. a decade ago.
EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager made the decision on Tuesday in consultation with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and will inform her fellow EU commissioners at a meeting on Wednesday, the person said.
The move reopens the possibility of fines for Google that could theoretically exceed $6 billion.
Such a move would be “very bad news” for Google, said Ioannis Lianos, a Professor of Global Competition Law at University College London.
“It means that [EU regulators] don’t want to settle case, they want to adopt an infringement decision,” which could lead to fines and injunctions, Mr. Lianos said.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/eu-to-file-antitrust-charges-against-google-1429039881