Germany’s justice minister has called for reform of European competition law to make it easier for authorities to crack down on Google, in a further sign of the deteriorating relationship between Berlin and Silicon Valley.
Heiko Maas said antitrust rules provided “little leverage for dealing with Google’s market dominance” and had to change. European competition law needed to be rewritten “to apportion a bigger role to consumer protection”, he added.
His comments come against the backdrop of repeated clashes between big US technology firms on the one hand and Brussels and Berlin on the other over issues ranging from competition and tax to online privacy.
Mr Maas said Google had more than 95 per cent of the German search market, yet “we still don’t know what criteria it uses to rank its search results” and whether it favoured its own services.
He said he used Google’s search engine all the time, “but I would like objective results, and not results that first and foremost serve Google’s commercial interests”.
Full Content: Financial Times
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Shein Warns of Higher Costs for French Shoppers Amid EU Fee Proposal
May 22, 2025 by
CPI
DOJ Opens Antitrust Probe of Google’s AI Partnership with Character.AI
May 22, 2025 by
CPI
Google’s Unbundling Offer Puts Korean Regulators in Tight Spot
May 22, 2025 by
CPI
Justice Department and FTC Warn Common Ownership Could Breach Antitrust Law
May 22, 2025 by
CPI
South Africa Approves Canal+ MultiChoice Deal
May 21, 2025 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Industrial Policy
May 21, 2025 by
CPI
Industrial Strategy and the Role of Competition – Taking a Business Lens
May 21, 2025 by
Marcus Bokkerink
Industrial Policy, Antitrust, and Economic Growth: Some Observations
May 21, 2025 by
David S. Evans
Bolder by Design: Crafting Pro-Competitive Industrial Policies For Complex Challenges
May 21, 2025 by
Antonio Capobianco & Beatriz Marques
Competition-Friendly Industrial Policy
May 21, 2025 by
Philippe Aghion, Mathias Dewatripont & Patrick Legros