1 week Ago By Varun Godinho
Google is once again in the crosshairs EU regulators, and this time its search engine is under scrutiny. EU authorities are believed to be preparing to order Google to take swift action to give more prominence to its rivals across its powerful search engine, and threatening it with a hefty fine if it does not comply. The penalties could be as steep as up to 10 per cent of its global annual revenue.
The officials are preparing a formal chargesheet against Google under the bloc’s Digital Markets Act, targeting how the company displays rival product results across its different search services, such as Google Flights and Google Hotels. The EU’s preliminary findings could be issued before the end of next month, according to Bloomberg. In the meanwhile, Google still has time to remedy the issue.
A final decision in the case is due to come before the end of March next year. Google’s lawyers reportedly met with EU commission officials privately this week to ease the watchdog’s concerns over compliance with the rules. One proposal floated by the US tech firm includes introducing a new design into Google’s search tabs, giving users the option of navigating to alternative search platforms or direct suppliers such as hotel websites and airlines.
A Google spokesperson claimed the firm has tried to balance the needs of different types of websites, while respecting users’ choice. Google has been in the midst of a legal storm within the EU, fighting a flurry of cases in the bloc’s courts. Earlier this month, it lost a bid to overturn a €2.
4 billion (A$3.9 billion) fine over EU allegations that it had abused its monopoly power to crush rival shopping services. That case was followed by victory for the company in a separate case, where it managed to get an EU court to overturn a €1.
5 billion (A$2.44 billion) fine for thwarting competition for online ads. EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager’s has overseen efforts to issue fines of more than €8 billion (A$13.
1 billion) to Alphabet’s unit as part of a wider crack down on big tech companies. Google is not the only one targeted under the new Digital Markets Act. Others including Apple and Meta too have been put on notice with investigations against them underway.
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