Google: Digital Markets ACT does considerable collateral damage

After Apple, Google also renews its criticism of the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA). Oliver Bethell, who is responsible for antitrust law issues at the search engine giant, raises the alarm: According to him, the DMA, which should actually ensure fair competition, is currently causing considerable and unintentional damage to European users and small companies. In a current statement on the ongoing consultation of the EU Commission on the still quite new competitive rules, Google has presented the corresponding effects and suggested improvement.

A clear example of the thesis is According to the input The European tourism sector: The DMA is forcing Google to remove useful travelersults in its search that led directly to websites of hotels and airlines. Instead, links to intermediate dealers would have to be displayed that require fees for their listing. This increases the prices for consumers, reduces traffic to the actual providers and complicates the quick search for reliable, direct booking information.

Direct traffic from Google Search has already broken up by up to 30 percent in key areas of the European tourism industry, leads Bethell in a blog entry. He refers On a study by the Digital Market Competition Forum (DMC)according to which European companies of all sectors could threaten to drop in sales of up to 114 billion euros due to the economic effects of the DMA. The DMC is academically anchored. His financing by large tech companies such as Meta makes concerns about potential influence.

Bruzzled innovations?

In addition to the search, the law for digital markets also complicates user protection on Android, Google complains: Due to the forced removal of legitimate security precautions, the requirements were facilitated and harmful links. The openness of the mobile operating system, which promoted innovation and selection through “sideloading” and preinstalled app stores in Europe, was at risk.

According to Bethell, the biggest challenge of the DMA remains the question of how the EU can promote innovations and provide state -of -the -art products, while developers would have to navigate through complex and unpredicted new regulations. Such stress and uncertainties delayed the introduction of products such as Google’s latest AI functions in the member states by up to one year. This is a shame of European consumers and companies.

Time for a reset

Google Proactive has made many changes to fulfill the DMA, the competition expert refers to instruments for data portability, for example. However, overlapping regulations of national regulatory authorities and legal proceedings also undermine the DMA goal of creating harmonized and consistent EU requirements. The US group therefore urges the Commission to make future enforcement measures user-oriented, fact-based, consistent and clear. It is time for a fresh start.

The EU cartel authority imposed a penalty of 2.95 billion euros against Google in early September. The accusation is on “misused practices” in the online advertising market. Google must present a convincing concept to the Commission to dissolve its monopoly.

Apple has just argued, the DMA should be withdrawn or at least massively revised. Together with Meta, the three Big Tech groups have been urging US President Donald Trump for months to act against “overzealous” EU regulation in the digital sector. Since then, the Republican has been threatening the EU again and again.

Backing for the DMA

Although the DMA has only been in force for a good year, it has already brought “significant changes” for European consumers, praises Beuc. This included a larger selection when setting the standard browser, the cancellation of the obligation to use Gmail with a Google account, new payment options and the use of the use of Apple Pay. The association appeals to the Commission to further enforce the DMA and urge the gatekeeper to comply with it. The association law for organizations such as consumer protection associations is laid down in the DMA.

The European Cloud provider Association CiSpe the Brussels government institution even advises to expand the DMA and more platforms than goalkeepers to classify with special duties. The merger complains: Although cloud services are mentioned as a central platform services in the legal text, no hyperscaler from the USA or China has yet been named as a gatekeeper. So far, the DMA could “have no influence on the restoration of a fair competition in this fundamental aspect of the digital market”.