Status: 05.01.2022 12:28 p.m.
The Federal Cartel Office has determined that the internet company Google is of “paramount cross-market importance”. In a second step, it could now prohibit the company from practices that threaten competition.
The Federal Cartel Office is setting the course for stricter control of the US Internet company Alphabet and its subsidiary Google. The President of the Cartel Office, Andreas Mundt, announced that they had “determined that Google was of paramount importance across the market.” The group is thus subject to expanded abuse control by the antitrust authorities. “This is a very important step, because on this basis the Federal Cartel Office can now pick up specific behavior that is harmful to competition,” said Mundt.
In Germany, Google has a dominant position in the market for general search services with market shares of more than 80 percent and is the main provider of search-related advertising. The authority emphasized that Google could therefore specify the rules and framework conditions for other companies across all markets.
Google’s paramount importance for competition is also evident in its stock market value, which is one of the highest in the world and reflects Google’s great financial strength. The Google parent company Alphabet is one of the few companies in the stock market that has a market capitalization of more than $ 1 trillion.
Examination due to new competition rules
The new competition law regulations that came into force in January 2021 triggered the Federal Cartel Office’s review. On the basis of the new regulations, supervisory authorities are now allowed to intervene earlier in the event of violations by large digital corporations and completely prohibit practices that pose a threat to competition. This means that in a second step, Google must now expect specific requirements from the competition authority. In addition to the cross-market position, Google’s data processing was also examined, according to the Federal Cartel Office.
Although Google does not agree with all of the authority’s findings and conclusions, it is not appealing the decision, according to the Cartel Office.
Investigations have already started
The competition watchdogs have meanwhile begun to take a closer look at the processing of personal data by Google and the news service Google News Showcase. “At the same time, we are vigorously pursuing further proceedings against Amazon, Apple and Meta, formerly Facebook,” said Mundt.