Reported by Consejeros Editorial Team
The European Commission (EC) has imposed a fine of €890 million on Google for breaching the Digital Markets Act (DMA) by giving preference to its own services in its search engine and imposing restrictions on companies seeking to direct consumers to alternative, often cheaper, purchasing channels on Google Play.
“The best products should succeed on the strength of their quality, not because they belong to the company that runs the search engine. Furthermore, European consumers have the right to be informed by app developers about where to find the best deals, even when the app store owner does not receive any commission,” said the European Commission’s Vice-President responsible for competition, Teresa Ribera.
Specifically, Brussels has fined the US tech giant €460 million for the unfair advantage its services enjoy in search results, and €430 million for the barriers it placed in the way of app developers informing users about download options other than the Google Play Store.
As the Commission has stated, under the Digital Markets Act, gatekeepers must not treat their own services more favourably in rankings than third-party services. “They must apply transparent, fair and non-discriminatory conditions to such rankings.”
In this regard, the Commission has found that Google grants preferential treatment to its own services, such as shopping, hotels, transport and sports results, over those of third parties in Google Search, “thereby breaching the obligations incumbent upon it under the Digital Markets Act”.
In fact, Brussels asserts that Google displays its own services “more prominently” in search results, including at the top of the search results page or through the use of enhanced images and filters, whilst similar third-party services do not enjoy the same prominence.
Furthermore, Google also prevents app developers from freely communicating and promoting offers and entering into contracts with users via the distribution channels of their choice, including third-party app stores.
As part of the two decisions, the Commission has ordered Google to put an end to the infringement and implement measures to treat third-party services appearing in Google’s search results fairly and without discrimination in relation to its own services, and to allow app developers who distribute their apps via the Google Play Store to freely communicate, promote offers and enter into contracts with users not only within but also outside the Google Play app store.
The fines imposed on Google take into account the seriousness and duration of the infringement. The tech company is required to comply with the Commission’s decisions within 60 days; otherwise, it risks penalty payments of up to 5 per cent of its total global turnover.
