The European Union is leaving no stone unturned to keep the major tech giants in check. The company currently under the radar is Google. The European Union is currently working on escalating its antitrust case against Google. If reports are to be believed, currently the EU is preparing formal charges against Google under its Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The charges against Google are based on how Google displays rival product results on its specialised search services like Google Flights and Google Hotels. If the case falls through, then it won’t go down well for Google. It will have to pay significant fines and it will even have to make major changes to its business model.
As per a Bloomberg report, the EU can release its preliminary findings by the end of October. There might be some delays in this owing to a change in leadership at the European Commission. Once the report is out, the tech giant will only have limited time to address the concerns, the deadline is set for March 2025. If it doesn’t it might have to pay penalties of up to 10% of its global annual revenue.
Owing to the extent of the issue, Google recently met with EU officials and proposed a redesign of its search services. With these changes, Google says it will provide easier access to alternative search engines and direct suppliers.
Google is trying its best not to lose this one as only last week the company lost its appeal against a €2.4 billion fine related to its shopping comparison services. However, Google saw a win earlier this week by successfully overturning a €1.5 billion fine related to online advertising practices.
From the looks of it, the EU is not going to go down easy on tech giants such as Google. Even Apple and Meta are currently under the radar. Let’s see how things turn out for Google.