Google has fired back at the European Commission’s preliminary ruling that the tech giant violated EU antitrust laws, arguing that the mandated changes would ultimately damage European consumers and businesses rather than promote fair competition.
Oliver Bethell, Google’s Senior Director of Competition, called the Commission’s findings “quite simply, misguided” in a strongly worded blog post. The European Commission charged Google with unfairly favoring its own Shopping, Hotels, and Flights services over competitors, potentially setting the stage for fines up to 10% of Alphabet’s global annual revenue.
European Commission’s suggested changes to Search makes things hard for people and businesses
“The Commission’s findings require us to make even more changes to how we show certain types of Search results, which would make it harder for people to find what they are looking for and reduce traffic to European businesses,” Bethell stated.
He cited specific examples of consumer harm, noting that when Google “can’t show travel results that take people directly to airline sites, they typically end up with a more expensive ticket because airlines have to pay commissions to intermediary websites.” According to Bethell, these changes have already caused European businesses to lose up to 30% of traffic.
Google says Commission is making them choose “unsafe” model for Play Store
The Commission also charged Google with violating anti-steering rules on its Play Store by preventing app developers from directing users to alternative distribution channels.
Bethell countered that the findings “create a false choice between openness and security,” arguing that the Commission “is effectively forcing us to choose between a closed model and an unsafe one” by potentially exposing users to “scammy or malicious links.”
The EU can fine Alphabet up to $35 billion based on its 2024 revenue. Google now faces a decision to challenge the preliminary charges or implement additional compliance changes before the final ruling.
“We will keep engaging with the Commission and comply with its rules. But today’s findings now increase the risk of an even worse experience for Europeans,” Bethell concluded, adding that the Digital Markets Act was “having the opposite effect by hurting European businesses and consumers.”