Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet, will on Tuesday caution EU antitrust regulators and its critics that key European Union rules aimed at reining in Big Tech are stifling innovation, harming European users and businesses, Reuters reported.
Google is facing pressure to respond to allegations under the EU’s Digital Markets Act that it favours its own services, including Google Shopping, Google Hotels, and Google Flights, over competitors. The allegations could lead to fines of up to 10% of its global annual revenue.
Google recently suggested further changes to its search results to highlight competing products, but critics argue that these still don’t guarantee a fair playing field.
The US tech giant will push regulators to provide more specific guidance to help it comply with the rules. It will also ask its critics to provide concrete evidence of the costs and benefits to support their claims.
Why does Google say DMA harms European users?
“We remain genuinely concerned about real world consequences of the DMA, which are leading to worse online products and experiences for Europeans,”
Google’s lawyer, Clare Kelly, will address a workshop organised by the European Commission, giving Google critics a chance to ask for clarifications.
She will argue that changes made by Google so far, following discussions with the Commission and its critics, have led to European users paying more for travel tickets because they can’t directly access airline websites.
Kelly will also mention that European airlines, hotels, and restaurants have seen a direct booking traffic loss of up to 30%. Meanwhile, users have been complaining about cumbersome workarounds.
Why does Google want clearer DMA compliance rules?
Google’s other lawyer, Oliver Bethell, will ask regulators to clearly outline the company’s requirements, and critics to provide concrete suggestions evidence.
“If we can understand precisely what compliance looks like, not just in theory, but taking account of on the ground experience, we can launch compliant services quickly and confidently across the EEA,”
he will say.
“We need help identifying the areas where we should focus. That means bringing real evidence of costs and benefits that we can take account of with the Commission,”
Bethell said.
When did the EU Commission launch an investigation against Google?
On March 25, 2024, the European Commission began its formal investigation into Google’s (Alphabet) non-compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The investigation focused on two issues, namely Google Search and the Google Play Store.
What are the EU’s concerns about self-preferencing?
The Commission’s initial findings suggest that Google self-preferences its own services (e.g., Shopping, Hotels, Flights, and other vertical search services) over competing services by providing them with more visibility in the search results. Self-preferencing violates the DMA as it is prohibited for gatekeeper platforms, such as Google, from engaging in self-preferencing.
The EU also found that Google’s Play Store prohibits app developers from freely informing users about alternative offers and payment mechanisms outside of Google’s ecosystem. Even when Google does allow directional steering, it charges fees for outside payment systems above and beyond what the DMA should allow.
