Google awaits EU antitrust decision

Probe could result in fines and a request for company to change business practices

BRUSSELS— Google Inc. and its critics are preparing for the European Union to make a decision on how to proceed with a four-year-old antitrust probe against the company as soon as this week, according to three people familiar with the case. European Union Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who is leading the probe, leaves on Wednesday for her first trip to the U.S. since assuming the post last year and an announcement would allow her to discuss the case, the people said on condition of anonymity because details of the probe aren’t public. People on both sides of the probe are bracing themselves for a decision from her that might see the EU move to levy fines and request changes to Google’s business practices.

“We are waiting for a decision increasing the pressure on Google” to change its conduct, said Ramon Tremosa, an EU lawmaker from Spain’s Catalonia region. “Google is increasing market share and European companies are losing revenues.”

The EU stepped up its probe into the world’s biggest search engine in December when it sought fresh information from people involved in Internet maps, travel and other services. Opposition from Google rivals scuttled three previous settlements that were hammered out by Vestager’s predecessor. The EU has been investigating since 2010 allegations that Google discriminates against rivals in search results.

Guenther Oettinger, the EU’s digital commissioner, expects “farreaching” steps from Vestager, who will soon come to a conclusion on the case, he told Die Welt in an interview on Sunday. He said he was sure that Google’s business model would be eyed more critically than before.

Al Verney, a Google spokesman in Brussels, didn’t respond to questions about the probe. The EU declined to comment.

Vestager will visit Washington later this week to meet U.S. antitrust officials and attend the American Bar Association’s spring meeting with lawyers and officials from both sides of the Atlantic.