More than 40 European companies have joined forces to call for EU intervention against Google due to alleged unfair business practices.
Following a 2.4 billion Euro fine imposed on Google two years ago, these companies are now urging European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager to take further steps against the tech giant.
The coalition of 41 companies demanding action against Google marks the largest collective effort to hold Google accountable to date. In a joint letter released on Thursday, the companies appealed to Vestager to enforce the 2017 ruling against Google. Reports from Reuters indicate that Google has failed to comply with the 2017 ruling which led to the hefty fine.
These companies, hailing from 21 different European countries, have sought Vestager’s intervention citing concerns over Google’s alleged non-compliance with the law which poses a threat to their businesses. The letter emphasized that Google’s advertising platform has not delivered on its promises, with competitors bidding for prime advertising space on Google search pages seeing no significant increase in traffic to their websites. The European companies claim that Google is skewing the competition unfairly within Europe.
The European Commission has acknowledged receipt of the letter and is currently monitoring the situation. As of now, no specific actions have been taken, and no solutions have been proposed.