EC to slap Google with 400-page document outlining anti-competition concerns

The European Commission (EC) will issue a 400-page document outlining its concerns with Google's alleged anti-competitive practices, according to sources at the EC.

A report in The Financial Times, sourced via dealReporter, claims that sources in the organisation revealed that the EC will issue its statement of objections in the new year listing a number of concerns with Google's search practices.

The firm is accused of using its dominance in the search market to favour Google services such as Product Search and YouTube at the expense of other companies in these sectors.

Furthermore, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt is expected to visit Joaquín Almunia, vice president of the EC and the commissioner responsible for competition, to discuss the document and Google's acquisition of Motorola, according to the sources.

Google will be looking to reassure the EC that it can address any concerns the document raises, and to avoid a fine which could be as high as 10 per cent of annual turnover.

Several firms have issued complaints against Google as part of the EC's investigation, including key rival Microsoft, which was itself the subject of an investigation by the EC over the lack of an alternative to Internet Explorer in the Windows operating system.

Meanwhile, Google is also being investigated by the US Congress, and in a first round of hearings Schmidt was forced to deny that Google has ever "cooked" its search algorithms to promote its own services over those of its rivals.