Google Must Improve Search Settlement or Face Charges, EU's Almunia Says

Google must improve its proposal to settle European Union concerns over its search practices or face formal antitrust charges, the EU's competition chief Joaquin Almunia said.

In a sometimes heated debate with European lawmakers, Almunia defended his agency's handling of its four-year-old investigation of Google, and insisted he hasn't been swayed by mounting political pressure. The commission asked Google at the beginning of September to improve its settlement proposal for an unprecedented fourth time after deciding that the previous offer, announced in February, didn't satisfy its concerns, Almunia said. If Google fails to deliver the necessary changes, "the logical next step is to move to a statement of objections," or formal charges against the company, Almunia said.