EU accuses Google of giving unfair prominence to its own apps

Brussels

THE EU opened a new front against Google on Wednesday, slapping the US giant with anti-trust charges alleging that it had abused the dominance of its Android mobile phone operating system.

The charges are a massive blow to one of Google's most strategic businesses and could alter a global smartphone sector that is fast taking over traditional PCs as the biggest segment in the world of computing.

Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said that Silicon Valley giant Google had used practices such…