Google faces Brussels antitrust scrutiny

The European Commission has launched a preliminary antitrust investigation into Google's search engine and its search-advertising service.

The European Commission on Wednesday said it had contacted the US Internet company about two weeks ago about three complaints it had received and that the commission itself was examining them. The authorities in Brussels stressed that they had not opened a formal investigation in the company or its practices at this stage. According to Google, one of the three complaints was from rival Microsoft. That protest, from an online service called Ciao that was recently bought by the software company, echoes a complaint that had already been lodged with regulators in Germany. The Commission added that it had asked Google to comment on the complaints and that it was co-operating closely with national competition authorities. This procedure is standard practice when complaints are received in Brussels, and it can take some time - often months - before a decision is made either to begin a formal probe or to drop the matter.