EU’s Vestager to meet Google complainants in coming weeks

Europe’s antitrust chief will meet Google’s critics in the coming

weeks in an effort to resolve issues in a four-year investigation

which has stirred up politicians and lawmakers on both sides of the

Atlantic.

European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said she wanted

new information on the case. Her predecessor, Joaquin Almunia,

rejected three attempts by the world’s most popular Internet search

engine to settle the case without a fine.

“It is important to get new information in the file and we have sent

questionnaires to a number of people in a number of areas. I will meet

with complainants within the next couple of weeks,” Vestager told a

news conference on Thursday.

Complainants such as Microsoft, German mapping service Hotmaps, U.S.

online travel sites Expedia and TripAdvisor and publishers across

Europe have accused Google of abusing its dominance.

An overwhelming majority of lawmakers at the European Parliament last

month approved a non-binding resolution to break up Google. The United

States said it was concerned about the politicization of the case.

Credit: BRUSSELS (Reuters)

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