According to the Wall Street Journal today, Europe’s antitrust regulator is planning to file formal charges against Google for breaking antitrust laws.
The charges are expected to be announced tomorrow and would be the first significant charges since Microsoft was fined by the organization over a decade ago.
Recode also reports today that Margrethe Vestager, who took over as EU competition commissioner in November, is flying into the United States on Wednesday and may make a statement after a meeting of the European Union commissioners.
The case against Microsoft took over a decade from initial complaint in 1993 to the resolution and ultimate fine in 2004, so the Google case is likely to take an extremely long time to fully pan out.
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➤ EU to File Antitrust Charges Against Google [WSJ]
Update: Recode has a copy of an internal memo that suggests the EU will launch an investigation into Android tomorrow:
“We believe that the Commission will also open a formal investigation into Android tomorrow. This is just the start of a process and does not mean the EC will necessarily take action (for example they opened and closed an inquiry into iTunes a few years ago). We have a very strong case on Android as well”
The memo also argues that competition in Europe is more fierce than ever and that the company has a “very strong case.”
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