The European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, brought antitrust charges against Google earlier this month, alleging that the U.S. tech giant manipulated its search engine to favor its comparison-shopping service, Google Shopping. The commission also expanded an investigation into whether Google forced manufacturers of Android mobile phones and tablets to use other Google services.
The commission sent its “Statement of Objections,” outlining its allegations against the company, on April 15. Google now has 10 months to respond, and can either choose to settle and propose concessions to appease European regulators, or take the case to court. Either way, the process is likely to take years.
This isn’t the first time the EU has gone after Google—the case against Google Shopping started in 2010 under the previous European Commission. The commission had originally accepted concessions from Google that would have given competitors more visibility, but the EU eventually rejected the deal.