Google could face a costly EU battle

If Google Inc. did an online search of how European antitrust regulators tangled with Microsoft Corp. during the past decade, it would see it could be facing a long, costly fight of its own.

Officials of the 28-nation European Union on Wednesday alleged that Google broke antitrust rules there by using its search-engine dominance to favour its comparison-shopping services over those of its rivals.

The EU’s antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager, also opened a separate probe into whether Google abused its widely used Android mobile operating system to hinder the development of rival software and products.

Google disputed the allegations and will be allowed to mount its defence. That process, along with possible court appeals if the company is found to be in violation of antitrust rules, could drag on for years.

If Google fails to overturn the EU’s allegations, there is speculation that the Mountain View, Calif.,-based company could face fines in the billions of dollars. The EU’s prior highprofile antitrust case involved Microsoft, which ended up paying hefty fines and being forced to alter its business practices in Europe.

Officials levied a combined $2.1 billion (U.S.) in fines against the software giant after investigations that began in the late 1990s.

Officials at the European Commission alleged among other things that Microsoft abused its dominance in personal-computer operating software to limit competition.

And in March 2013, EU regulators fined Microsoft an additional $731 million for failing to live up to an agreement to allow users of Microsoft’s Windows software to easily choose a web browser other than Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.

The fines were costly but not debilitating for Microsoft, which had revenue of $86.8 billion in its fiscal year ended last June 30. Google’s revenue in 2014 was $66 billion.