European regulators are increasing their oversight over Big Tech’s practices, including potential abuses of market dominance
THE competition authority in Italy has opened a probe into Google and its parent company, Alphabet, alleging unfair commercial practices and incomplete information given to users of its services.
The competition authority said that its investigation will focus on the quality of information provided to users when “linking” to their services.
It added that it is unclear to users what effect their consent would have, and how their personal data is being used.
According to the regulator, Google’s request for consent “may constitute a misleading and aggressive commercial practice” that appears to be accompanied by incomplete information that could influence the choice of whether and to what extent consent should be given.
Google “will examine the case and work with the authorities”, the company said.
The probe comes amid an increasing oversight by European regulators over the practices of Big Tech companies, including how they use personal data as well as potential abuse of market dominance. BLOOMBERG
