Brussels has signalled that it is ready for a protracted fight with Google after levelling its first formal charges against the internet giant and indicating that there would be more to come.
The European Commission accused Google yesterday of cheating consumers and abusing its dominance of internet searches by displaying its own shopping comparison service, Google Shopping, more prominently in search results than rival services.
Margrethe Vestager, the competition commissioner, said that the proceedings could establish a “broader precedent” for infringement actions against Google’s search business if the company was found to have acted illegally.
The proceedings, which are likely to drag on for years, could result in a crippling fine of $6.6 billion and force Google to overhaul its business practices on the continent.