Google faces July deadline over antitrust probe "[But] I strongly believe that users and competitors would greatly benefit from a quick resolution of the case," the Commissioner added. Recent signals from Google have suggested it is in no mood to back down. At the firm's Big Tent conference in Hertfordshire last month, executive chairman Eric Schmidt sounded a defiant tone. "He [Mr Almunia] is encouraging us to have a conversation [and] we completely agree" he said. We disagree that we are in violation. Until they are precise about what areas of the law we have violated, it will be very difficult for me to speculate. The European Commission's investigation was opened in November in response to a series of complaints from smaller web firms, including the British price comparison service Foundem, which said Google had relegated it in general results. It has called for Google to be forced to adopt "search neutrality," meaning it would not be allowed to promote its own services in general search results. "In the traditional bricks-and-mortar world, Google's anti-competitive practices would be obvious to all," said Foundem's founders, Adam and Shivaun Raff. The unique role that search plays in steering traffic and revenues through the global digital economy means that Google is not just a monopoly; it is probably the most powerful monopoly in history. According to Experian Hitwise, Google firm handles more than 90 per cent of British web searches, and is similarly dominant across the continent. The denies that it abuses its position, however, and argues that people are free to switch to different services at any time online.