Brussels, 11/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 11 December, the Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, confirmed that she had sent out questionnaires to a number of players in various sectors (online maps, travel sites) “to update” the Google dossier. The search engine is under investigation into possible abuse of dominant position in online searches and the related advertising.
The investigation was launched in 2010 and has seen the submission of three rafts of proposed commitments on the part of the American giant, all of which have been rejected by the European Commission. “I think it was important to get new info in the file”, said Vestager, adding that she was to meet the complainants - more than 20 of them - over the next few weeks. When asked whether she plans to draft a statement of objections, she replied that she had “no intention yet” and that once she finds out more about how the complainants see the case, she will know more and will then be able to decide how to take the investigation forward. (EL)