Regulatory bodies of the European Union are preparing to issue a statement of objections against the management of Google. This may escalate a process that could lead to a large fine of $6 billion. Europe's antitrust regulator Margrethe Vestager became the initiator of the case. The regulator’s representatives already prepared the petition with proof of antitrust law violation by the search system. Jean-Claude Juncker himself decided to file the case and announced this. Besides, some sources close to the process said that the official accusation was preceded by investigation that lasted 5 years. During this time, investigators gathered unchallengeable evidence from their viewpoint that Google intentionally redirects users’ queries to its own online shopping services, travel websites, and maps. Thus, the corporation illegally promoted its products infringing rights of competitors considerably. Main accusations against Google are stated in the preliminary petition of the European Commission. The hi-tech giant is charged that it manipulated search results, borrowed content from competitive web sources, made contracts limiting use of other platforms by market participants, and signed contracts with advertisers written so that they exclude opportunity to turn to competitive services.
