European regulators have launched a series of investigations into Big Tech. The latest news is that Apple, Metaplatforms and Alphabet Inc.'s Google could be hit with hefty fines by the end of the year for alleged violations such as downplaying competing products on their platforms.
Here are some of the actions European watchdogs have taken against big tech companies.
european union
The European Commission said in April that Meta's Facebook and Instagram platforms had failed to tackle disinformation and deceptive advertising in the run-up to the European elections, when it launched an investigation into possible violations of EU online content rules. .
The EU's antitrust regulator announced on March 25 that Apple, Meta Platforms, and Google will be investigated for possible violations of the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA). Violations could result in fines of up to 10% of the companies' annual global sales. .
The commission declined to comment. Apple, Meta, and Google did not respond to requests for comment.
In September 2023, the EU singled out 22 so-called “gatekeeper” services run by Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft and TikTok owner ByteDance and gave them six months to comply with the DMA's rules. It will be easier for users in Europe to move between competing services.
In April, EU antitrust regulators designated Apple's iPad operating system as a DMA gatekeeper.
Meta Platforms and ByteDance-owned TikTok both challenged their “gatekeeper” status in November, but the latter lost its bid to suspend the designation in February. Apple said in April that it would continue to engage constructively with the European Commission to comply with technical regulations.
Following complaints from Spotify in 2019, the city of Brussels on March 4 fined Apple 1.84 billion euros ($1.99 billion), making it the first iPhone maker to violate EU antitrust laws. . Apple criticized the EU's decision and said it would challenge it in court.
An adviser to the European Supreme Court said on January 11 that the court should uphold the EU antitrust fine of 2.42 billion euros against Google. The European Commission fined the company in 2017 for using its proprietary price comparison shopping service to gain an unfair advantage over smaller European rivals.
The European Commission ordered Microsoft to prevent customers from relying on certain security software provided by competitors, according to a letter the regulator sent to at least one of the company's rivals in January, seen by Reuters. We are investigating whether or not
The EU's antitrust regulator said in the same month that Microsoft's more than $10 billion investment in ChatGPT maker OpenAI was subject to EU merger rules, after the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued a similar warning last December. It was announced that there is a possibility that
Last November, EU antitrust regulators ordered Microsoft rivals to separate chat and video app Teams from Office products after the European Commission launched an investigation into the 2018 partnership between Office and Teams. asked whether the US software giant's proposal was sufficient to address concerns. July 2023.
uk
In October 2023, the UK's media regulator ordered an investigation into the dominance of Amazon and Microsoft in the UK's cloud market, citing features that make it more difficult for businesses to switch or mix and match cloud providers. A request was made to the antitrust authority CMA. The CMA plans to complete its investigation by April 2025.
France
France's competition watchdog on March 20 fined Google 250 million euros ($270.43 million) for violations related to EU intellectual property rules in its relationship with media publishers. Announced.
Authorities raided Nvidia's local offices in September last year, The Wall Street Journal reported. The watchdog disclosed the raid but did not name the company, saying only that it was in the “graphics card sector.”
Nvidia declined to comment.
Antitrust authorities said in July 2023 that Apple may have violated regulations regarding the use of iPhone user data in advertising, and that Apple may have violated regulations regarding the use of iPhone user data in advertising, and that Apple may have been biased in handling user data and imposing opaque and unfair terms to dominate the market. He said there was a possibility that he would abuse his position.
Germany
Germany's cartel office announced on October 5 that Google has agreed to change its user data practices to end a German antitrust investigation aimed at curbing data-driven market power. did. Google's efforts will give users more choice over how their data is used across the company Regulators said the platform is important.
Italy
In February, Italy's competition watchdog fined British American Tobacco (BAT) and Amazon a total of 7 million euros ($7.57 million) over misleading advertising for heated tobacco products.
Italy's antitrust authorities announced in May 2023 that they had opened an investigation into Apple for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the app market.
In April last year, the watchdog took action against Mehta for allegedly abusing his position in the country in an investigation into the rights to music posted on his platform.
Netherlands
Dutch privacy watchdog Associated Press announced in April that it was recommending that government agencies stop using Facebook unless it is clear what will happen to the personal data of users of government Facebook pages.
In October last year, the Dutch competition regulator imposed Apple's fine on the company for 50 million euros ($54.09 million) for failing to comply with regulations aimed at limiting Apple's App Store's dominant position. It was announced that the objection had been rejected. Apple plans to appeal this decision to a Dutch court.
Spain
In May, a group of Spanish startups filed a complaint with the country's antitrust regulator about Microsoft's cloud practices. The Spanish Startup Association, which represents more than 700 startups in Spain, cited several recent alleged anticompetitive practices by Microsoft.
(1 dollar = 0.9224 euro)
Published May 8, 2024, 09:55 IST
