Google Faces EU Penalties for Digital Markets Act Breaches
EU officials are preparing a formal chargesheet against Alphabet Inc.’s unit under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), targeting the company’s display of rival product results across its search services, such as Google Flights and Google Hotels. The company faces potential penalties of up to 10% of its global annual revenue if it fails to comply with the rules. Preliminary findings are expected before the end of October, though the timing may shift due to upcoming changes in top-level officials at the European Commission. A final decision is anticipated by the end of March next year.
Google’s legal team recently met with EU Commission officials to address compliance concerns. One proposal includes redesigning Google’s search tabs to allow users to navigate to alternative search platforms or direct suppliers like hotel websites and airlines. This move aims to balance the needs of different websites while respecting user choice, according to a Google spokesperson. The Commission in Brussels has declined to comment on the matter.
The DMA outlines specific guidelines for major tech platforms. This warning follows a significant court victory for the Commission against Google’s abusive behavior on its search service. Last week, Google lost its appeal against a €2.4 billion fine for monopolistic practices against rival shopping services. However, the company successfully overturned a €1.5 billion fine related to online ads, a dispute concerning behavior that ended in 2016.
Margrethe Vestager, the EU competition chief, has fined Google over €8 billion during her tenure and has suggested that Google’s advertising technology business should be broken up. Vestager will soon be replaced by Spain’s Teresa Ribera. Google joins Apple Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. in facing formal DMA complaints, with the bloc already addressing issues with Apple’s app store rules and Meta’s subscription model for ad-free services.
Source: Google Faces EU Ultimatum in Fresh Attack on Search Dominance
