It has decided today that the search engine and the Google Play online store, two Alphabet US Group Ownership Services, violate EU competition rules, thus opening the door to impose huge fines on the US technological giant.
At the same time, the Commission ordered to improve the interoperability of its iPhone and iPads with connected devices from competitive brands, such as watches and headphones, as European antitrust regulators continue to take stricter measures against technological giants.
Donald Trump, who threatens to impose duties on countries imposing fines on US companies.
The EU Competition Supervisory Authority today issued preliminary findings that (EU Digital Markets – EU Regulation on Claimable and Righteous Digital Markets).
What did the Commission announce
Brussels has informed Alphabet that based on findings, its Google search engine discrimination against competitive services, ranking them in less favorable positions, while its online application store prevents developers from directing their customers to other distribution channels.
The Commission’s announcement “constitutes further modifications (…) that will harm European businesses and consumers will hinder innovation, weaken security and degrade the quality of the products,” Google replied.
These announcements come after two procedures in March 2024, based on the new DMA in the beginning of last year.
Alphabet is accused of taking advantage of its quasi -monopoly location in Google search engine to favor its own price comparison services through better registrations, at the expense of competitors in search of hotels, airline tickets and other consumer goods sold online.
The fines
For this reason 2017, but the proposed corrective measures were never judged satisfactory.
Regarding Apple, Brussels has clarified the measures that Apple must take to comply with interoperability obligations. “These decisions are legally binding. Apple is called upon to implement the defined measures, “the Commission said. Failure to comply with these specifications could result in the launch of an investigation by the Committee to violate the DMA.
Oh, who aims to prevent the giants in the industry from getting smaller players through unfair methods.
“Our current decisions are trapped in a bureaucracy that slows down Apple’s ability to innovate for users in Europe and forces us to offer our new opportunities for free to companies that are not subject to the same rules,” Apple reacted.
DMA provides fines of up to 20% of the worldwide turnover of the offender in the event of serious and repeated infringements.
EU antitrust leader Teresa Ribera said in a statement that measures “ensure that Alphabet complies with EU rules when it comes to two services widely used by businesses and consumers across the EU, Google’s search and Android phones”.
