Alphabet Inc’s Google is rolling out a series of broad changes to some of its core search, browser and data products in Europe, in order to step in line with the European Union’s new rules to rein in Big Tech’s market dominance.
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Google said Wednesday that online shoppers in the EU will see different search results, featuring more links to comparison sites from across the Web, and will also be shown an additional consent banner for user-data on certain services. Google has also pledged the possibility of additional choice screens for search engines and browsers on Chrome.
The US company did however caution the bloc’s Digital Markets Act – which has forced it to make the changes – involve “difficult trade-offs” and that the firm is “concerned that some of these rules will reduce the choices available to people and businesses in Europe”.
The bloc’s new DMA rules – which come into play on March 7 – impose a rigid regime on the largest digital firms and boost the European Commission’s existing powers as the region’s antitrust enforcer.
It will be illegal for certain platforms to favor their own services over those of rivals. They’ll be barred from combining personal data across their different services, prohibited from using data they collect from third-party merchants to compete against them, and will have to allow users to download apps from rival platforms.
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Alphabet Inc’s Google Search, Apple Inc’s Safari, Amazon.com Inc’s marketplace, Bytedance Ltd’s TikTok and Meta Platforms Inc’s Facebook are among a list of 22 Big Tech services that come under the scope of the EU’s Digital Markets Act.
– Bloomberg
– TheStar