Earlier today we reported that the EU was in the process of formally charging Google with antitrust violations. Google has yet to issue an official response given that the charges have yet to be formally made, but the folks at Re/code have managed to get their hands on an internal memo at Google which shows its planned response to the charges.In response to allegations that Google has abused its dominance in the search market, Google’s memo basically states that there are plenty of options that users can easily choose from. “The competition is just one click away — and it’s growing. People can use Bing, Yahoo, Quora, DuckDuckGo, and a new wave of search assistants like Apple’s Siri and Microsoft’s Cortana, as well as more specialized services like Amazon, Idealo, Le Guide, Expedia, or eBay.”
They also point towards social media where users are also able to find out news and other information. “In addition, users increasingly turn to social networks like Facebook and Twitter to find news and suggestions — where to eat or which movies to watch.” Google also provided graphs that shows that online shopping and travel websites have not been affected by Google. In fact the graphs show that Google’s position is pretty low and near the bottom.
Is this evidence enough where the EU’s antitrust regulators will decide to leave Google alone? Probably not, but so far Google has presented some pretty solid evidence and arguments to make their case. As noted by Google, this investigation could take as long as a year or two to complete, but we’ll keep you guys updated as things move along.