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Alphabet ( GOOGL ) unit Google has lots to fear from the European Union’s investigation into its Android unit, said investment bank Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co. in an industry note Wednesday. “The EU’s moves should not be taken lightly,” wrote Moness, Crespi analyst James Cakmak, adding, “The latest string of developments from the EU’s antitrust boss, Margrethe Vestager, suggests a formal complaint to Google may be underway.” The EU is investigating Google on charges related to Android, said Cakmak — in particular, about whether the company required smartphone makers and others to bundle or otherwise include Google apps and services in their products. He said that required bundling is a big threat, “especially when considering it is Android which allows Google services to proliferate on the mobile ecosystem. Unbundling hinders the ability (of Google) to collect data and targeting. The case will likely end up in court with appeals, but it shouldn’t be taken lightly.” The EU is investigating Google’s Android system following complaints, including those from a group representing Microsoft ( MSFT ), Expedia ( EXPE ) and Nokia ( NOK ), according to media reports. The European Commission said in a statement last year that it was investigating whether “by entering into anticompetitive agreements and/or by abusing a possible dominant position, Google has illegally hindered the development and market access of rival mobile operating systems, mobile communication applications and services in the European Economic Area.” The EU’s challenge to the Google Android operating system followed a formal complaint filed last year that focused on Google’s comparison-shopping service. The commission had charged that Google favors its own shopping-comparison service in its search results. Google faces fines that could exceed $6 billion or injunctions that restrict how the company operates in Europe. EU Has Tightened Privacy Laws EU officials reached an agreement in December to replace a patchwork of digital privacy legislation with one standard law covering the entire EU to govern how companies can use individuals’ personal information. After nearly four years, negotiators agreed in December on a final text of an EU-wide provision to replace 28 different national privacy laws and boost financial penalties for companies that violate the new provision. Europe has been more concerned about digital privacy than the U.S. Google stopped adding to its Street View footage in Germany years ago, amid government objections there. A European “right to be forgotten” has forced Google and others, upon citizens’ requests, to drop links to information about them that’s available publicly elsewhere online. Europe, which lacks major consumer Internet companies, has also gone after Internet companies — especially Google — for alleged market abuses. Alphabet stock was flat in midday trading in the stock market today , near 750, but it’s up roughly 30% in the past 12 months. Scalper1 News
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