The European Union’s European Commission has brought charges against Google. Again.

This is the third time the EC has filed an antitrust case against the search giant. Google’s AdSense advertising business is the main focus of the case, and it has the potential to fit Google hard, since advertising is a big money maker for the company. 

In IT Blogwatch, we search for justice.

The third case, huh? So what exactly is going on this time? Chris Mills gives us the background:

The European Commission…issued a “statement of objections” against Alphabet, Google’s parent company. The…contract Google signs with third-party websites that use its advertising service…forces websites to put Google’s ads front and center, and prevents them from using ads from non-Google services.
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According to the EU, Google abuses…power to prevent websites from showing ads from other ad companies. In the EU’s opinion, that constitutes anti-competitive behavior, and Google could be facing sanctions or fines.

Sounds like pretty serious charges. But you didn’t think that was the EC’s only complaint, did you? Oh, no, there is more. Robert Cyran breaks it down for us:

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