Silicon Valley lawmaker jumps to Google's defence

The lawmaker dubbed "Silicon Valley's congressman" has rallied to Google's defence after the EU accused it of illegally using its dominance of online search to steer European consumers to its in-house shopping services.

Mike Honda, a Democrat who represents part of Silicon Valley in the US House of Representatives, praised the company's "life-changing technologies" and told the Financial Times: "Governments should be encouraging this type of innovation, not seeking to hamper it."

Margrethe Vestager, the EU's antitrust chief, announced the move against Google on Wednesday. Mr Honda's response on Thursday came as Ms Vestager began a visit to Washington where she will meet US antitrust regulators and speak at two public events.

As the wealth of Silicon Valley executives and the size of their companies has expanded, they have become influential political donors and ramped up their lobbying presence in the US capital, a place they avoided for a long time.

Mr Honda, a congressman since 2000, said in a statement: "I'm concerned by the European Union's filing of antitrust charges against Google. Silicon Valley has produced some of the most innovative and life-changing technologies in human history."

The congressman went on: "Google has earned its position as one of the leading search engines through high-quality service and innovation. I hope that this matter is resolved quickly."

On Thursday morning Ms Vestager met Edith Ramirez, chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission, a US regulator that has probed Google's activities in the US. "They had a good, productive meeting. We will not be commenting beyond that," said an FTC spokesman.<

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Google now has 10 weeks to respond and allay the European Commission's concerns. It also has a right to a hearing in the coming months.

If Google's defence is unsuccessful, it faces a large fine, theoretically as much as 10 per cent of the previous year's turnover, some $66bn in 2014.

California's two US senators, the Democrats' Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, did not respond to requests for comment.

Mike Lee, a Tea Party-affiliated senator from Utah, has alleged in the past that Google "cooked" its search results so its own shopping services appeared near the top.

A spokesman for Mr Lee said on Thursday: "We are reviewing the EU's charges and monitoring the situation closely."

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