The Surprisingly Optimistic Reason Why Europe Is Battling Google

[Commentary] Competition commissioner for the European Union Margrethe Vestager respects Google. She's also spearheaded a major investigation into the company's business practices. Earlier in 2015, her efforts resulted in antitrust charges against the search giant. One might call that ironic. "Everyone would congratulate Google when it comes to their success," Vestager said. "But everyone would expect them to play by the book." Vestager made plain her hope that European citizens might be afforded the same capacity to innovate that's allowed Google to evolve into one of the most powerful multinational tech corporations on the planet. "What we're aiming for has nothing to do with Google as such -- it has to do with the market allowing innovation," Vestager said.

The antitrust allegations hinge on one very important concept: Google is the go-to source for information, but it's also a business that generates billions of dollars every year. (Its total revenue was $66 billion in 2014 alone.) So, can it abuse its ability to generate search results by surfacing its own products first? That's the thrust of the EU's case.