On Wednesday, Alphabet’s Google found itself under renewed scrutiny as calls emerged for further investigations into its adherence to significant European Union regulations aimed at curbing the influence of major technology firms.
Privacy-centric search engine DuckDuckGo, which held a mere 0.54 percent share of the global search market as of January, has urged the European Commission to initiate three additional inquiries concerning Google’s practices.
Following the adoption of the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) in 2022, Google, along with six other technology giants, is mandated to allow users greater ease in switching to competing services and is prohibited from prioritizing its own offerings on its platforms, among other stipulations.
Kamyl Bazbaz, DuckDuckGo’s senior vice-president for public affairs, expressed in a blog post that despite the DMA’s implementation, the EU search market has seen minimal changes. He argued that formal investigations are essential to ensure Google’s compliance with the legislation.
Currently, Google is already the subject of two investigations linked to its app store Google Play’s guidelines and potential bias against third-party services within its search results.
A representative from Google stated that the company is collaborating with industry stakeholders, experts, and the European Commission, asserting that significant modifications have been made to its products in line with DMA requirements.
“We are focused on providing consumers and businesses with a greater array of service options. Users expect their data to remain protected when utilizing our services, and we will not compromise this trust to grant competitors greater access to sensitive information,” the spokesperson remarked.
The European Commission opted not to comment on the allegations made by DuckDuckGo but reiterated its commitment to the effective enforcement of the DMA.
Bazbaz highlighted that one investigation should examine Google’s proposal to allow competitors access to anonymized search data specifically for European users. He contended that this dataset likely excludes 99% of search queries, rendering it ineffective for rivals.
“It’s ironic that the biggest tracker on the Internet is claiming to prioritize privacy while circumventing legal obligations,” Bazbaz noted.
He further asserted that Google should be investigated for allegedly not complying with DMA requirements designed to facilitate users’ transitions to alternative search engines.
Should companies be found in violation of the DMA, penalties could amount to as much as 10% of their global annual revenue.
© Thomson Reuters 2024
(This article has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
