EU: Tech rivals’ stealth lobbying fight against Google

Two of the world’s largest tech companies control a nonprofit group that is the main complainant in a landmark European antitrust inquiry against Google reported Politico. Oracle and Naspers, two of the world’s largest tech companies, control a nonprofit group that is the main complainant in a landmark European antitrust inquiry against Google, according to documents obtained by Politico.

The two companies hold legal authority over FairSearch, an organization that filed the first antitrust complaint in 2013 against Google’s Android mobile operating system, according to regulatory filings with Belgian authorities. FairSearch says it represents Google rivals concerned with the search giant’s alleged illegal conduct in Europe. But records filed with Belgian authorities indicate that, in fact, executives from Oracle and Naspers are the group’s only members with legal authority over its activities.

None of the other FairSearch members, including several small European tech startups, have official voting rights over the group’s actions, which include hiring some of Brussels’ best-known legal advisers and lobbyists as part of the organization’s anti-Google campaign.

Oracle and Naspers’ exclusive control of FairSearch raises questions about the transparency of EU lobbying and highlights the risk that competition investigations can be taken hostage by warring corporate interests.

Full Content: Politico

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