The European Union has imposed a multi-million fine on Google under the bloc’s Digital Markets Act, accusing the tech giant of unfairly prioritizing its own services over competitors.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Google has been fined almost €1 billion (over $1 billion) by the European Union for allegedly favoring its own services over competitors. 📺 DETAIL: The European Union (EU) has fined Google €890 million (approximately $1 billion) for allegedly abusing its market dominance to prioritize its apps and other services over competitors. The EU’s fine includes €460 million for Google allegedly prioritizing its own services in search results and €430 million for measures that allegedly prevented users from finding cheaper offers outside Google’s marketplace. The fine was issued under the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). “The best products should succeed because they’re better, not because they’re owned by the company running the search engine,” said Teresa Ribera, the EU’s Commissioner for Competition. 💬 KEY QUOTE: “To comply, we are having to strip away real-time Search features Europeans love – like instant pricing and direct availability for hotels, flights and restaurants – and dismantle safety protections on Google Play… This isn’t fair competition.” – Kent Walker, President of Global Affairs at Google 🎯 IMPACT: This marks the first significant enforcement of the DMA by the European Commission, the EU’s executive body. The decision could set a precedent for the bloc’s dealings with multinational tech companies in the future. Following the decision, Google has 60 days to comply with EU regulations or challenge the fine in court. This decision represents a continuation of clashes between Google and the EU over tech regulations. “After this decision, we want to make sure that there is more competition and also other companies are able to innovate,” claimed Henna Virkunnen, the EU Commission’s vice president for technology. The EU’s fine against Google follows a similar action against AliExpress, a Chinese online marketplace. AliExpress was fined €550 million (~$629 million) for failing to sufficiently crack down on unsafe and counterfeit products on its platform. This fine is the largest ever issued under the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA). |
Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.
show less
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
