Google given more time to reply to EU antitrust charge on Android

[September 08, 2016]  BRUSSELS - Alphabet's Google has been given two more weeks to counter EU antitrust charges that it uses its dominant Android mobile operating system to block competitors, the European Commission said on Thursday.

A Google search page is seen through a magnifying glass in this photo illustration taken in Berlin, August 11, 2015. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski/File Photo
 

The EU competition enforcer in April accused the U.S. technology giant of harming consumers because of its demand that mobile phone makers pre-install Google Search and the Google Chrome browser on their smartphones to access other Google apps.

Google was initially given until July 27 to respond to the charges but asked for an extension to Sept. 7.

"On Android, the last deadline set by the Commission for Google's reply, after an extension request by Google, is Sept. 20," a European Commission spokesman said in an email.

Google can be fined up to $7.4 billion or 10 percent of its global turnover if found guilty of breaching EU rules.

It also faces charges of favoring its shopping service over those of rivals in Internet search results and blocking competitors in online search advertising.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by David Goodman)

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