Google has got a second extension — until August 31 — to its deadline for responding to the European Commission’s charge-sheet alleging the Internet giant acted anti-competitively by discriminating against competitors in ranking shopping searches.
POLITICO also learned on Thursday that the company will not be seeking an oral hearing when it does respond.
News of the extension came just days after Google restructured its global business, creating a new holding company, Alphabet, and splitting its operations. Two sources close to the case said the two events were not connected.
“The Commission has agreed to Google’s request to extend the deadline to respond to its statement of objections by an additional two weeks,” said Commission spokesperson Ricardo Cardoso.
“Google requested additional time,” Cardoso explained. “In line with normal practice, the Commission analysed the reasons for the request. As a result, it has granted an extension allowing Google to fully exercise its rights of defence.”
Once the Commission receives Google’s response to the charge-sheet, it must decide whether to press ahead with its accusations, with the possibility of sanctioning the search giant if it is found to have broken EU law.
An oral hearing would have gained Google more time to defend itself, and given it a chance to speak directly to the most senior bureaucrats in the EU competition authority.
But it could have backfired if Google’s rivals attended en masse to lay out their complaints and tilted the Commission in their favor. All 20 official complainants and 10 interested parties would have been invited.
Another key question is whether the Commission will bring forward any other charges against the company during the next few months. When Margrethe Vestager, the European commissioner for competition, charged Google with breaking EU law by promoting its Google shopping service, she said that her officials continued to work on other connected concerns.