Google accused of monopoly

Google handles 80% of European web searches, according to ComScore, compared to 65% in the US. Photograph: Boris Roessler/EPA

• "Preliminary inquiry to focus on whether internet giant penalises competitors in search rankings"

The Silicon Valley internet company revealed today that the commission has sent out formal questionnaires seeking information about complaints from three firms – the British price comparison site Foundem, a French legal search engine called eJustice and a shopping site, Ciao, which is owned by microsoft.

Although the commission's investigation is only at a tentative stage, the fact that Brussels is taking the issue seriously is likely to set off alarm bells at Google.

Julia Holtz: "We are confident that our business operates in the interests of users and partners, as well as in line with European competition law."

The European complaints are merely the latest in a series of critiques of Google's position. Thousands of authors have been battling plans by Google to digitise the contents of millions of books. In Italy, prosecutors are challenging Google's YouTube video website on the grounds of invasion of privacy. And newspapers in countries including Germany have attacked the free use of their content on Google News.