The European Union's top antitrust regulator said Monday that Google has a few weeks to resolve concerns about its business or face a harsh antitrust investigation on the continent. Joaquín Almunia, the European Commission's vice president for competition policy, outlined four major concerns with Google's current business practices that have pricked European regulators: complaints that Google favors its own vertical services like Google Maps in search results, allegations Google copies original material from competing websites to populate services such as Google Places, and concerns that Google manages its search ads and Adwords platform in ways that stifle competition in the online ad market. Almunia declined to comment in detail on complaints related to Google's Android smartphone platform, stating only that the investigation is ongoing.

European Voice reports Almunia wrote to Google chairman Eric Schmidt, detailing the concerns and offering the search giant a chance to come up with solutions that would avoid the need for a lengthy antitrust investigation. A Google spokesperson said the company has only started looking through the commission's arguments and disagrees with its preliminary conclusions, but is willing to discuss any concerns they might have. The spokesperson also said "competition on the Web has increased dramatically in the last two years since the Commission started looking at this and the competitive pressures Google faces are tremendous. Innovation online has never been greater."

Notably, Sens. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, the chairman and ranking member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, issued a statement expressing pleasure that the EU is working with Google to develop voluntary solutions to the stated concerns, many of which were raised at last year's antitrust hearing on Google by competitors such as Yelp. Google is currently facing an antitrust probe here by the Federal Trade Commission, which also is reportedly scrutinizing the company's core search business and how it promotes its own services. Google's response to the EU also could have an impact on the direction of the FTC probe, since regulators from both sides of the Atlantic have been working closely on investigations. A refusal by the search giant to acquiesce to the EU's concerns could trigger antitrust litigation on both sides. Such cases often take years to resolve and could result in fines in the billions of dollars. Competitors such as Microsoft, whose complaints helped trigger the EU's investigation, cheered the news.

Quotable: “We are pleased that the EU is working with Google to develop a set of voluntary solutions to the search engine’s problematic practices, including those that we identified at our September 2011 hearing. We are hopeful that Google will be a willing partner with the EU’s Competition Commissioner. We continue to urge the FTC to investigate the concerns we raised at our hearing and to ensure a competitive search market where consumers can fairly pick the winners and losers in our online economy.” — Kohl and Lee. Wyden Slams Senate Cyber Bill: CQ Homeland Security's Rob Margetta reports Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., denounced cybersecurity legislation currently in front of Congress as "an overreaction to legitimate fear" during a floor speech on Tuesday afternoon. Wyden drew no distinction between CISPA (HR 3523), the information sharing bill passed by the House and backed by industry, and the comprehensive bill (S 2105) supported by the White House and Senate leadership. He said both bills would lead to the creation of a cybersecurity industry that profits off fear and access to the private data of Americans. He also argued the bills would fail to motivate the private owners of critical infrastructure such as the power grid to secure their networks.

Wyden became a hero of the tech industry and broader Internet community thanks to his longstanding opposition to SOPA and PIPA, two online piracy bills championed by Hollywood that were scuttled earlier this year after massive online protests. Wyden warned about potential privacy concerns with the bills and their predecessors more than a year before the issue caught traction in the media. His leadership was frequently cited as crucial to the movement that derailed the bills, and his vocal opposition to the Senate bill is further evidence that the same coalition that came together to defeat SOPA and PIPA is coming together once again. The House bill at least has the backing of industry and most conservatives, but the Senate bill at this point appears to lack any significant support aside from Senate leadership, the Obama administration and experts who claim baseline security standards are vital for preventing a catastrophic attack.

Startup Act 2.0 Debuts Today: Sens. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., Mark Warner, D-Va., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Chris Coons, D-Del., will unveil a new bill on Tuesday aimed at boosting the creation and growth of new businesses. The legislation builds on the recently-signed JOBS Act by expanding opportunities for immigrant entrepreneurs trained at U.S. universities to stay in the U.S., a key issue for most tech companies. It also would attempt to reduce regulatory burdens for businesses trying to expand and change the tax code to encourage investment in startups. The senators will hold a news conference this morning at the Capitol, featuring AOL co-founder Steve Case and a representative for the Ewing Marion Kaufman Foundation. On the Move: The Federal Communications Commission announced David Turetsky will take over as chief of the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. Current acting chief David Furth will resume his role as deputy bureau chief. The Washington Post reported the Federal Trade Commission hired University of Colorado Law associate professor Paul Ohm to advise on mobile privacy and competition issues. Ohm is considered an expert on Internet privacy.