Leaked internal memo details Google's response to potential EU antitrust charges

Leaked internal memo details Google's response to potential EU antitrust charges

<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><a href='http://www.imore.com/leaked-internal-memo-details-googles-response-potential-eu-antitrust-charges' title="Leaked internal memo details Google's response to potential EU antitrust charges"><img src='http://www.imore.com/sites/androidcentral.com/files/styles/large_wm_brw/public/article_images/2014/07/Google-Nexus-7-Event-1.jpg?itok=_s3YQ513' />[/url]</p> <p class="intro">An internal Google memo that details the search giant's response to potential antitrust charges from the EU has leaked today.</p> <p>Following a report from earlier today that the European Commission is set to bring formal antitrust charges against Google, Re/code has reportedly obtained an internal memo sent out to all Google employees in which the company says it believes it has a good case and points to strong competition from the likes of Microsoft, Yahoo, and Amazon.  From the memo, as reported Recode:</p>

<p>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. 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.</p>

<p>The memo follows up this argument with a number of charts using comScore data that show tough competition from Amazon and Ebay in France, Germany, and the UK. However, with the exception of a chart showing travel searches in Germany, the data only address one sector: online shopping.</p> <p>Further into the memo, Google also says that it expects that the EU will open an investigation into Android, but it is confident that it has a good case against potential antitrust concerns there as well:</p>

<p>Consumers decide which apps they use and download on Android devices. Apps that compete directly with Google such as Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft Office, and Expedia are easily available to Android users</p>

<p>As noted in the memo, Google expects that the EU will file its formal antitrust charges tomorrow, April 15. If you'd like to check out the memo in full (it's a fascinating read), you can read more from Re/code at the source link below. In any case, it will be interesting to see where this goes, and we'll keep you updated as things move along.</p> <p>Source: Re/code</p> </div></div></div><img width='1' height='1' src='