EU's Antitrust Agency: 'Google's Behavior Denies Consumers A Wider Choice Of Mobile Apps And Services'

Alphabet Inc GOOG's business has come under fire by European regulators who are accusing Google of abusing its dominant position in the mobile market.

Reuters reported that European Union's antitrust regulators said Google is denying consumers a wider choice of mobile apps and stifling innovation by requiring phone manufactures to pre-install Google's services, including Search and Chrome.

"A competitive mobile Internet sector is increasingly important for consumers and businesses in Europe," European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement. "We believe that Google's behavior denies consumers a wider choice of mobile apps and services and stands in the way of innovation by other players."

Google already faces the wrath of European regulators who accuse the company of abusing its market dominance in web search.

Related Link: Google Responds To European Union Investigation Over Antitrust Laws

Google has 12 weeks to respond to the allegations. Reuters quoted the company as saying in a statement, "We look forward to working with the European Commission to demonstrate that Android is good for competition and good for consumers."

According to Bloomberg, the maximum fine Google faces is $7.5 billion - a figure the company can afford given its $78 billion in cash and marketable securities.

Shares of Alphabet were trading higher by around 0.14 percent early Wednesday morning.

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Posted In: NewsLegalTechEuropean Competition CommissionGoogleGoogle Anti TrustGoogle EuropeMargrethe Vestager
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