Alphabet, Google’s parent company, will warn European competition regulators on Tuesday as well as its detractors that the emblematic rules of the European Union, designed to supervise digital giants, slow innovation to the detriment of users and companies on the continent.
The American technological giant will also urge the authorities to provide more detailed guidelines to help them comply with these regulations, while inviting its detractors to present concrete evidence on costs and advantages to support their arguments.
Google is under pressure to respond to the accusations formulated as Digital Markets Act (DMA) of the EU, according to which the company promotes its own services, such as Google Shopping, Google Hotels and Google Flights, to the detriment of its competitors. These accusations could lead to fines of up to 10 % of its annual world turnover.
In early June, Google offered new adjustments to its search results in order to better highlight competing products, but its criticisms believe that these modifications still do not guarantee fair conditions.
“We remain deeply concerned about the real consequences of the DMA, which lead to a degradation of online products and experiences for Europeans,” said Clare Kelly, lawyer for Google, during a workshop organized by the European Commission offering Google detractors the opportunity to request clarification.
According to a copy of her speech consulted by Reuters, she will explain that the changes implemented by Google to date, after discussions with the Commission and its opponents, have had the effect of increasing the price of travel tickets for European users, the latter being unable to access the sites of airlines directly.
Kelly will add that European airlines, hotels and restaurants have reported to 30 % drop in direct reservations traffic, while users complain about unwanted bypass solutions.
The other lawyer for Google, Oliver Bethell, will ask regulators to specify in detail what the company must do, and detractors to provide tangible evidence.
“If we can understand precisely what conformity implies, not only in theory but also taking into account the concrete experience, we can launch quickly and with confidence in conformity in the whole of the EEA,” he will explain.
The EEE brings together the 27 countries of the European Union, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
“We need help to identify the areas on which to concentrate our efforts. This implies providing real evidence of costs and benefits, which we can take into account with the Commission, ”added Bethell.
The workshop, which will be held on a whole day, will start at 07:00 GMT.
