Big Tech Firms Face Tough Week Following EU Clamp-Down

The wrangling between Europe and Big Tech firms took a significant step up this week, as the European Union (EU) toughens its grip on some of the world’s largest technology companies.

The top headline is no doubt the news that Alphabet unit Google lost its key appeal to overturn a landmark antitrust ruling by European regulators, involving a hefty $2.8 billion fine in an EU shopping ads antitrust case.

The Luxembourg-based General Court upheld the billion dollar fine meted out by the European Commission against the company in 2017, as a result of preferential treatment the firm gave to its own price-comparison shopping service over rival services.

Read more: Google Loses Appeal of $2.8B EU Shopping Ads Antitrust Suit

“Today’s judgment delivers the clear message that Google’s conduct was unlawful and it provides the necessary legal clarity for the market,” a spokesperson for the European Commission (EC) reportedly told CNBC. “The Commission will continue to use all tools at its disposal to address the role of big digital platforms on which businesses and users depend to, respectively, access end-users and access digital services.”

The internet giant can appeal the decision to the EU’s highest court, the European Court of Justice, and the company will likely use changes it made in 2017, in compliance with the EC’s decision, as an argument to support its case.

Related: Report: Amazon Hopes to Settle EU Antitrust Cases

On the issue of fines, Amazon is reportedly seeking to settle antitrust probes in Europe by engaging with the EU competition enforcer, all in bid to avoid orders to alter its business and a potential hefty fine which could be up to 10% of its turnover — roughly $38.6 billion, based on its 2020 revenue.

The delivery behemoth was charged last year for using its data and size to get an unfair edge over the smaller competitors selling on its platform. The firm is also the subject of an EC-led investigation into whether its own offers and those of sellers who use its delivery and logistics services were given preferential treatment on their platform.

See also: EU Privacy Regulator Fines Amazon $887M

The timeline of the settlement talks remains unclear, and whether the delivery giant manages to win over EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager, which Google has failed to do, is simply a question of time.

Elsewhere, social media giant Facebook — now Meta — continues to navigate the ongoing whistleblower fallout, following the release of tens of thousands of internal research documents by ex-employee, Frances Haugen, last month.

After meetings with U.S. and U.K. lawmakers and regulators, Haugen made a stop in the EU this week, testifying in front of the European Parliament on Monday (Nov. 8).

Once again, her message was clear: Facebook continuously puts profit over public safety, ignoring toxic content and products that are harmful to societies and individuals, especially children.

Learn more: Facebook Whistleblower to EU Lawmakers: Beef up Tech Rules

For a region that is home to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), considered one of the toughest data privacy laws in the world, Haugen’s message was bound to set off alarm bells ringing among her European audience.

Moreover, Facebook is not particularly in the EU’s good books, after its instant messaging platform WhatsApp was fined a record €225 million euros (about $266 million and the second-largest GDPR fine ever) in September for not telling users how it shared data with Facebook.

Meanwhile, Apple doesn’t seem to have raised any eyebrows this week, even though company executives have raised concerns over a proposed EU regulation, the ‘Digital Market Act’, that could force the company to change its policies and allow third-party application stores access to iPhone devices.

Speaking at The New York Times DealBook summit earlier this week, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that users who want to side-load apps have the choice to “buy an Android phone” instead, per a Tuesday (Nov. 9) report by AppleInsider.

Cook added that the experience which Apple offers is designed to “maximize security and privacy,” saying that allowing side-loading would be akin to an automaker not installing airbags in a car.

See also: Tackling Privacy Concerns Would Be Key to Ensuring Digital Euro Is Embraced by EU Citizens