Europe gives Google extension in shopping case

Google has more time to respond in a European antitrust case focused on its comparison shopping service.

Reuters reported on Thursday — the deadline for Google to respond in the case — that the company had received an extension from authorities. The new deadline in the case is November 7, according to the news service.

{mosads}The extension was given to Google at the company’s request. A European Commission spokesperson told Reuters that the “commission analyzed the reasons for the request and granted an extension allowing Google to fully exercise its rights of defense.”

The company is facing charges that it abused its dominant position in the market when it came to its comparison shopping service.

Google is also facing two other antitrust cases in Europe, where authorities have aggressively pursued American companies. The deadlines in those cases come later this month.

Those cases concern Google’s online advertising deals and its popular Android operating system.

American regulators at the Federal Trade Commission have been hesitant to pursue Google for competition violations. In 2013, the agency announced it would not take formal action against the company after an investigation of its search practices.

That could be changing. Politico reported in May that the agency was once again examining the company’s role in the search market.