European Union regulators are reportedly preparing to threaten Google with huge fines if it doesn't make changes to its flagship search engine.
The EU watchdog is preparing a “formal complaint” focusing on how Google displays links to competitors within embedded search services such as Google Flights and Google Hotels. Bloomberg reportedHe said this citing a source close to the matter.
The antitrust authorities may report provisional measures by the end of October, though that date may be delayed pending the upcoming change in leadership at the European Commission. A final decision in the case is due by March next year.
Google could avoid fines by changing its business practices to assuage EU concerns, and the company's lawyers are reportedly discussing potential solutions with regulators, such as adding an option to easily move users to competing services.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Under EU rules, Google could be fined up to 10% of its annual revenue if it doesn't address the blocking concerns — a maximum fine of $30.7 billion, considering the company last year projected 2023 revenue of more than $307 billion.
The dispute over the regulations is the latest blow in Google's long-running battle with EU antitrust regulators.
Google earlier this month lost a fight to overturn a $2.7 billion fine it received for disrupting a rival's shopping service, but successfully challenged a separate $1.7 billion fine related to its digital advertising empire.
Google is the target of the EU's Digital Markets Act, a sweeping law that would impose restrictions on its parent company Alphabet and five other companies that regulators consider to be “gatekeepers” to the internet: Amazon, Apple, TikTok parent ByteDance, Instagram parent Meta, and Microsoft.
In June, Apple became the first major US tech company to be formally charged under the DMA for preventing app developers from easily directing customers to cheaper products outside its App Store.
Mehta was also accused in July of forcing a restrictive “pay or agree” model on clients for advertising on Instagram and Facebook.
Last week, the EU warned Apple that it could face fines if it did not agree to improve interoperability of its closely guarded iOS software with rival devices, including smartwatches and headphones.
Google also faces increased antitrust enforcement in the United States.
The Justice Department's landmark antitrust trial over Google's monopoly on digital advertising technology used by businesses and online publishers begins what is expected to be the final week of testimony on Monday, with the federal government seeking to force the breakup of Google's advertising empire.
Separately, a federal court ruled in August that Google had an illegal monopoly on online search. The second phase, which will determine potential penalties to rein in Google, including a possible breakup, is due to finish by next summer.
