BRUSSELS
European Commission launched two anti-trust investigations into electronic chipmaker Qualcomm on Thursday in the latest inquiry into a major U.S. corporation.
The commission said it would examine possible abuse of market dominance by Qualcomm, the world's largest supplier of voice and data transmission chips.
One inquiry will look into potential breaches of EU antitrust laws through offering financial incentives to customers on condition of buying chips primarily from Qualcomm. A second investigation will examine whether the San Diego-based firm charged below cost prices in order to force competitors out of the market, the commission said in a statement.
"Many customers use electronic devices such as a mobile phone or a tablet and we want to ensure that they ultimately get value for money," Margrethe Vestager, the EU commissioner in charge of competition policy, said. "Effective competition is the best way to stimulate innovation."
In April, the EU filed charges against Internet giant Google for allegedly violating the bloc’s antitrust laws and last month announced a probe into Amazon’s e-book business. The EU is also investigating the tax arrangements of Starbucks, Apple and Amazon.
In a statement, Qualcomm said it was disappointed to learn of the investigations and was cooperating. "We continue to believe that any concerns are without merit," the company added.
In February, Qualcomm agreed to pay a $975 million fine as part of a settlement with antitrust authorities in China.
