Today, the European Commission sent preliminary findings to Alphabet for non-compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) regarding its designated gatekeeper services.
The Commission believes that certain features of Google Search favour Alphabet’s own services over competitors’, violating the DMA’s requirement for fair and non-discriminatory treatment of third-party services. This finding does not affect the ongoing investigation.
Additionally, the Commission found that Google Play does not comply with the DMA, as app developers are restricted from directing consumers to better offers elsewhere. The DMA mandates that gatekeepers must not prioritize their services over similar third-party services.
Although Alphabet has claimed to have made changes to Google Search, feedback from the Commission’s investigation suggests that it continues to self-preference its own services. For instance, Alphabet displays its services more prominently in search results than those of competitors.
Furthermore, app developers should be able to inform customers of cheaper options and guide them freely, but Alphabet is believed to restrict this steering technically. The fees for facilitating customer acquisition via Google Play are also considered excessively high.
Alphabet can now respond to these preliminary findings and review the investigation documents. If the Commission’s views are confirmed, it may issue a non-compliance decision.
“The two preliminary findings we adopt today aim to ensure that Alphabet abides by EU rules when it comes to two services widely used by businesses and consumers across the EU, Google Search and Android phones. In the first case, our preliminary view is that Alphabet is in breach of the Digital Markets Act by favouring its own products on the Google Search results page, which means suppliers and competitors do not benefit from fair ranking practices. In the second case, we take the preliminary view that Alphabet does not effectively allow Android phone users to be told about or directed to cheaper offers from app developers outside the Google Play store. Let me be clear: Our main focus is creating a culture of compliance with the Digital Markets Act. Non-compliance proceedings are reserved for situations where attempts at dialogue have not been successful. But as always, we apply our laws in a fair and non-discriminatory way, and fully respect parties’ rights of defence,” Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, explained.
The Commission will continue discussions with Alphabet to find solutions that comply with the DMA.
