EU: Google rivals insist on tougher penalties from EC

According to the Wall Street Journal on Monday, January 29, Google submitted the first of regular reports to EU authorities on its remedy measures. Should the EU find Google’s remedies don’t adhere to its decision, it could impose fines as high as 5% of the company’s global daily revenues for each day Google doesn’t comply.

Competitors point to several reasons why they want the remedy changed. Some say they have higher fixed costs than Google, making it harder to match Google’s bids. Others complain that ads they place via Google click directly through to their clients’ websites, rather than their price-comparison engine, depriving competitors of a chance to add value and woo internet users.

Some rivals also allege Google has continued to demote their websites in its general search results since the EU decision, which also alleged such demotions. Kelkoo CEO Richard Stables says the firm’s revenue from general search traffic dropped by 62% last year, to €2.3 million (US$2.9 million). In 2018, he projects a two-thirds drop to €800,000 (US$992,329).

EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said in a December interview that the shopping case will “remain on our working desks for some time” and that she and her team were “getting wiser by the day” about Google’s measures.

Full Content: The Wall Street Journal

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