Jessica Guynn

USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO — Google will face charges from the European Commission that it's violating competition rules by unfairly favoring its own services such as maps and search over those of its rivals on its Android mobile operating system, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The charges, which are called a statement of objections, are expected Wednesday, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person is not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The European Commission declined to comment.

Europe's competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, gave a speech Monday, foreshadowing the charges. Google will have several months to respond to them.

Google may face new antitrust inquiry into Android

Google bundles its products, such as search, email and maps, into its Android mobile software, and device manufacturers have to agree to put Google search prominently on devices if they license that free software. The European Union has been probing whether bundling harms rival applications as well as device manufacturers.

Any unbundling of those products in Europe could deal a major setback for Google. Android powers about three-quarters of the smartphones there.

Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co. analyst James Cakmak says "any forced un-bundling of Android and Google services" would undermine Google's data collection and targeting capability.

"This is the one area that gives us pause given the uncertainty on how far the EU will go," Cakmak wrote in a research note.

Research firm eMarketer forecasts Google will make about $34 billion in net mobile ad revenue in 2016.

EU accuses Google of abusing Internet search dominance

Hiroshi Lockheimer, who heads up Android, defended that agreement in a blog post a year ago after European Union officials launched the antitrust inquiry. Lockheimer said Google’s agreements with device manufacturers ensure that Android phones work well when people buy them by pre-loading basic services such as email and maps. He also said rival services are allowed to pre-install their own apps and services.

Commissioner Vestager said her agency is concerned that Google's bundling practice curbs innovation from smaller apps makers.

"Our concern is that, by requiring phone makers and operators to pre-load a set of Google apps, rather than letting them decide for themselves which apps to load, Google might have cut off one of the main ways that new apps can reach customers," Vestager said in her speech.

Google faces trouble abroad

Google already faces antitrust charges on another front. European antitrust authorities charged Google with unfairly abusing its dominant market position to favor its search services. Those charges could result in a fine in excess of $7 billion.

The Federal Trade Commission in Washington is also probing whether Google broke U.S. antitrust laws by using its Android operating system to boost its own services.

Canadian authorities on Tuesday said they had closed their probe into claims that Google abused its position in online search, but would continue to monitor the company.

“We’re pleased that the Canadian Competition Bureau has decided to end its inquiry. We work hard in a competitive landscape to create a great experience for our users and help them quickly and easily find what they need from Google," Kent Walker, Google's senior vice president and general counsel said in an emailed statement.

Google parent company Alphabet is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings on Thursday.