EU regulators to seek feedback on Google’s compliance proposals to avoid fees

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European antitrust regulators will next week seek advice on Google’s proposals to comply with technology rules aimed at promoting fair competition, people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday, a decision that could determine whether the company faces formal charges.

The European Commission opened an investigation into Google in March to see if the company favours its industry-specific search engines, such as Google Shopping, Google Flights and Google Hotels, over those of its competitors, and whether it discriminates against third-party services in Google search results.

The move comes after rivals including price comparison sites said Alphabet-owned Google had failed to fully comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which aims to curb the influence of big tech companies and create a level playing field for smaller competitors.

Google’s latest proposals aim to create a separate box for competitors below the product ads box in Google search results, in a move intended to address criticism from price comparison sites, the people said.

The company also proposed creating two different cubicles next to each other: one for intermediaries and the other for direct suppliers such as airlines, hotels and retailers.

The commission will hold workshops separately for those groups from Sept. 9 to 11 to get their views on the proposal, the people said. Google was not invited to the events.

“The September workshop will cover Alphabet’s compliance with Article 6.5 of the DMA on self-privileging and will involve a range of third parties,” the EU competition watchdog said in an email.

Google said: “We have been working with the European Commission and industry stakeholders over the past year, receiving and responding to feedback to balance a broad range of views across the ecosystem. We will continue to work together in the coming months.”

Failure to address regulatory concerns could result in formal charges being filed against Google by the end of September, which could result in hefty fines of up to 10% of the company’s global annual turnover, the people said.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)