Google must respond to Android abuse of power charge in early September

The European Commission has given Google until September 7 to respond to the Statement of Objections, which was sent in April. The search giant should have replied at the end of July, but asked for a postponement.

The commission has granted the request for a postponement, spokesman Ricardo Cardoso told Reuters. Google said it needs more time to study the documents and has now been given an extra six weeks to respond. The initial deadline was set for July 27.

Google must answer the complaint of the European Commission, which accuses the company of abusing its dominant position in the search engine market. According to the committee, Google does this, among other things, by obliging makers of smartphones and tablets to pre-install Google apps such as Search and the Chrome browser on their devices. The committee also suspects Google of having paid manufacturers for this exclusivity.

If the European Commission finds Google guilty, a fine of up to ten percent of the annual turnover can be imposed. The Android abuse case is running alongside another case, in which the EU accuses Google of favoring its own price comparison service in search results. In addition, there are indications that the European Commission may want to start a third case, about abuse of power in the advertising market.

Even if Google gives its answers to the case on September 7, it will probably be years before a ruling is made. In a similar case of Europe against Intel, which formally started in 2007, a fine was imposed in 2009. The processor manufacturer is still fighting that fine of 1.06 billion euros.