Google’s lawyers are having their busiest summer ever

Google’s lawyers are having their busiest summer ever

Leo Mirani

Quartz 

So it’s official. A week after Reuters first broke the story, the Wall Street Journal today confirmed (paywall) that the European Union’s regulators are preparing an antitrust investigation into Google’s Android mobile platform. Investigators are sending out questionnaires, seen by both Reuters and the Journal, asking:whether there was a requirement set by Google, written or unwritten, that they not pre-install apps, products or services on mobile devices that compete with Google software like its search engine, app store and maps.

According to the Journal, lawyers are speculating that a separate investigation into Google’s search practices “could be rolled [into] the Android probe, creating one mammoth investigation—and headache—for Google.” That would be on a par with the EU’s investigations into Microsoft, which started in 1998 and rolled on, and on, and on.But that’s just Google’s latest headache. Here’s what else has been keeping its lawyers occupied this summer:

In February, it seemed like a long-running investigation into Google’s “sponsored results,” or ads, was finally at an end. The EU’s antitrust chief, Joaquín Almunia, announced an agreement that would have the search giant show competitors’ results along with its ads. Alas, it was not to be. In June Alumunia said in a letter to his fellow commissioners, seen by the New York Times (paywall) that the deal could still be modified. Moreover, he signaled the Commission’s willingness to look into “many allegations, the various practices that they cover, and the new types of markets that are affected.” This month, it is looking likelier than ever that the deal will fall through (paywall).Then there’s the whole fracas over the so-called “right to be forgotten.” The EU’s top court ruled in May that people can ask Google to censor search results for information about them if it’s irrelevant, outdated, or otherwise inappropriate.

 But Google first raised a big stink about the ruling, noisily removing links, then reinstated some. Then it convened a council of elders to give its actions some independent credibility, and finally explained itself after European data-