Italy investigates Google for ‘unfair trade practices’

The Italian competition authority says Google does not provide users with sufficient information when asking for their consent to combine different services.

Italy’s antitrust authority has opened an investigation into Google and Alphabet over suspicions the tech giant is using misleading business practices.

The Italian Competition Authority – also known as the AGCM – said it was investigating a consent request that Google sent to customers in connection with the “bundling” of its services. The watchdog said the request appeared to fail to provide users with any meaningful information about how that consent would affect the personal data they shared with Google – or that it provided that information “inappropriately and inaccurately”.

The AGCM also claims that Google may use certain techniques to obtain users’ consent, which impacts their freedom of choice. In its statement, the watchdog argued that a consumer may make a commercial decision they would not otherwise make by consenting to the “combination and cross-use” of personal data across Google services.

“We will review the details of this matter and cooperate with authorities,” a Google spokesman said in a statement to Reuters.

AGCM has repeatedly taken action against Google in recent years.

In 2021, the watchdog fined Google and Apple €10 million after finding that the companies had failed to provide users with sufficiently clear information about the commercial use of their data. Earlier that year, the AGCM fined Google more than €100 million for preventing the Enel X app from being allowed on Android Auto. The watchdog said Google had abused its dominant market position by doing so.

The antitrust authority was also responsible for imposing a massive fine of €1.13 billion on Amazon in 2021 for abusing its dominant market position by offering incentives to sellers using its logistics services.

Google has faced a variety of fines and antitrust allegations in recent years, including a massive U.S. trial that could have serious consequences for the company depending on its outcome. The U.S. Justice Department has accused Google of trying to maintain a monopoly on search and online advertising. The judge in the case heard final arguments from both the department and Google in May and is expected to take several months to make a final decision, the AP reported.

Despite regulators’ concerns about Google, the tech giant plans to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz for $23 billion, which would be its largest acquisition ever.

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