Google has reportedly been charged with violating European Union antitrust laws. The charges, filed by EU regulators, accuse Google of leveraging its dominance in online advertising to undercut competition, marking the fourth such accusation against the company in recent years.
The New York Times reports that internet giant Google has been accused of breaking antitrust regulations in the EU. This is the fourth time in recent years that Google has been charged with using its dominance in internet advertising to stifle competition by EU regulators.
Margrethe Vestager, the executive vice president of the European Commission who oversees digital and competition policy and a frequent opponent of the Masters of the Universe, stated: “Google is present at almost all levels of the so-called adtech supply chain. Our preliminary concern is that Google may have used its market position to favor its own intermediation services.”
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Google derived the majority of its $60 billion profit last year from advertising, meaning the ramifications of these claims may be far reaching. Many of Google’s most well-known services, like search, email, maps, and Android, are supported by advertising, allowing the corporation to provide them for “free.” Google users pay for these services through the vast amounts of personal data the company sucks up about every detail of their lives.
Vestager went on to describe the potential harm brought on by Google’s alleged actions. “Not only did this possibly harm Google’s competitors but also publishers’ interests, while also increasing advertisers’ costs,” she added.
The accusations against Google are a part of a bigger initiative by European regulators to control the biggest technological firms in the world. Apple and Facebook (now known as Meta) are two further digital behemoths being investigated for possible antitrust crimes.
As a result of suspected antitrust violations involving its Android mobile operating system, shopping service, and another area of its advertising business, Google has recently been hit with billion-dollar fines from European regulators. Due to legal appeals made by Google, all of these cases are currently pending in court.
In a “statement of objections” against Google, the European Commission outlines the company’s alleged antitrust violations. This is a preliminary step in a process that might take some time before a judgment is made over whether to levy a punishment of up to 10 percent of Google’s worldwide revenue or to order other changes to its business practices. Another option is to come to an agreement.
Read more at the New York Time here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan