Comparison portals are pushing the EU to take antitrust measures
More than 40 European comparison portals such as Idealo and Co. have asked the EU to force Google to change its search results. The accusation: The Alphabet subsidiary would prefer its Google Shopping service and thus abuse its market power.
In a joint letter, over 40 European comparison portals, including Idealo and Möbel24, have called on the EU to apply a new antitrust law to put Google in its place. The price comparison portals accuse the US group of preferring its Google Shopping service and abusing its market power.
The EU must therefore ensure that Google complies with an order from 2017 that obliges the company to allow more competition in its search. The current actions of the Alphabet subsidiary also violate the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which officially comes into force in May 2023.
Google Shopping: Comparison portals feel disadvantaged
Five years ago, the European Commission imposed a fine of 2.4 billion euros on Google. At the end of 2021, the penalty was officially confirmed. A counterclaim by the company was unsuccessful.
The EU also called on the US group to refrain from giving preference to its Google Shopping service over the competition. Google then said it wanted to treat its shopping service the same as other competitors that serve ads in Shopping search.
The specific allegation is that Google is already making its own price comparison with its service. Other portals, on the other hand, have no chance because the search engine pays less attention to them.
Is Google not complying with the order?
In their letter, the comparison portals also criticize that neither the fine nor the request from the EU have led to a sufficient change in Google’s behavior. The news agency Reuters quotes the companies as follows:
The Commission must reopen the search results pages for the most relevant providers by removing Google’s shopping units, which do not allow competition but result in higher prices and less choice for consumers and an unfair transfer of profit margins from retailers and competing CSS mean on google.
The abbreviation CSS stands for “Comparison Shopping Services”. This is a platform on which price comparison portals get an overview of their ads on Google. According to the companies, in order to guarantee fair competition, the EU must now ensure that its new legal framework is followed by action.
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