EU reportedly plans to fine Google over search practices
The European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, reportedly plans to issue a record fine to Google LLC over its practices in the search market.
German newspaper Handelsblatt today cited sources as saying that the company will be ordered to pay a high nine-figure penalty. According to Reuters, it would represent the largest-ever fine issued by EU regulators under the bloc’s DMA legislation.
The European Parliament passed the DMA, or Digital Markets Act, in 2022 to regulate large tech firms. The rules that it contains cover advertising, user data management and mobile apps. Additionally, the DMA regulates situations where a company operates a platform that provides access to both its own services and competing products. That part of the legislation is at the center of the scrutiny facing Google.
Last year, the EU tentatively found that the company had breached the DMA with its search engine. Regulators believe that the company displayed first party services such as Google Shopping more prominently in search results than competing third party websites.
