Google is reportedly facing new charges in the EU for breaking rules aimed at checking the power of Big Tech. The company faces mounting regulatory pressure in the EU over allegedly biased search results. The European Commission has been investigating the search engine giant since March 2023 over concerns that it favors its own services – like Google Shopping, Flights, and Hotels – over rivals in search results.
The EU is preparing new charges against Google for violating the Digital Markets Act
According to Reuters, the European Commission is preparing to charge Google with violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA) after the company’s proposed changes to search results failed to satisfy the regulators and competitors. According to sources familiar with the matter, Google intended to address regulatory concerns with its recent tweaks to search results. However, the critics argue the changes are not fair enough to address the required DMA act.
According to the report, Google’s threat to revert search results to basic blue links frustrates the EU regulators. Google has warned that any more modifications to search results could remove useful features for users.
The US tech giant has already announced a series of changes to search results formats in recent months in the EU. These changes address conflicting demands from price-comparison websites, hotels, airlines, and small retailers. The majority of these have them have dismissed the proposals as not DMA-compliant.
Google is likely to receive the new DMA fines in the coming months
The European Commission’s DMA prohibits Google and other Big Tech brands from favoring their own products and services on their platforms or face fines of as much as 10 percent of their global revenue. The EU plans to send Google the new DMA charges in the coming months. They will follow decisions on separate DMA investigations into Apple and Meta, which are at more advanced stages.
It’s worth mentioning that Google is already fighting a massive €4.3 billion (about $4.5 billion) antitrust fine imposed by the EU over its Android business model. The EU fined Google that sum in 2018 for its business practices in the mobile OS segment that, as per regulators, negatively impacted competition. Google once again filed an appeal against the huge EU antitrust fine in late January. The EU will have the final ruling on the matter in the next few months.
2025-02-24 15:07:23