Google urged to avoid formal charges

Europe's top antitrust official said Google may have abused its dominance to squelch online competition and urged the company to settle allegations to avoid formal charges that could carry a hefty fine. A quick resolution to the investigation that began in 2010 would benefit the fast-moving online marketplace, Joaquin Almunia, head of competition policy for the European Commission, said in a rare public call to end the case quickly. A settlement "at an early stage is always preferable to lengthy proceedings," Almunia said. "I hope that Google seizes this opportunity to swiftly resolve our concerns, for the benefit of competition and innovation in the sector," he said on Monday, urging the company to offer proposals "in a matter of weeks" to remedy the problems.A Google representative said the company disagreed with the findings but was willing to discuss the European Commission's concerns. European antitrust experts, surprised by the public prodding to settle, were split on whether the commission was trying to salvage a weak case or quickly end a strong one to avoid market damage. "It's very unprecedented. Normally they would ask to engage in settlement talks behind closed doors," said Nicolas Petit, a law professor at the University of Liege in Belgium. "The fact that the commission is trying to force Google to make a proposal may indicate the case might not be that strong." But Dennis Oswell, a European antitrust attorney at Oswell & Vahida, said Monday's announcement showed Almunia probably has a strong case and is trying to pressure Google to settle to avoid more bad publicity.