EU Extends Google’s Deadline To Respond Regarding Antitrust Charges

Google was just given its fourth extension by the EU to rebut the antitrust charges raised against it. The charges pertain to Google’s methods of having Android phone makers install the tech giant’s products ahead of launch, thus blocking competitors. Google now has until October 31st to respond.

The European Commission is giving the tech giant another extension after the previous September 20th deadline to accommodate the company’s request, Reuters reports. Aside from the Android case set for the end of the month, Google is also scheduled to address online advertising and shopping concerns on October 13th and 26th.

Considering that the original deadline set down by the EU Commission was all the way back in April, however, it’s not too far of a stretch to assume that Google could get yet another extension after this one. It’s been six months since the tech giant was requested to explain its actions and in all that time, Google has been carrying on as usual.

As Tech Crunch notes, this isn’t all that unusual, especially pertaining to competition cases. However, the EU does run the risk of allowing Google too much leeway. This could then lead to any adverse effects it is trying to correct to become irreversible.

In the case of Google’s Android issue, for example, the major complaint that competitors have against the OS is its ability to embed the tech company’s products in the mobile devices by default. This makes it very hard for competitors to get their own apps installed in consumer phones, which already have things like, Google Play, Google Search, and Google Chrome.

If Google does end up losing the case, the tech company could be looking at a hefty fine consisting of 10 percent of its annual income. Right now, the company’s yearly turnover sits at $75 billion. That’s a lot of money to get cut by 10 percent.