Reuters reported on the 25th, citing Germany's business daily Handelsblatt, that the European Union (EU) is moving to impose a fine worth hundreds of millions of euros on Google for alleged violations of antitrust rules.
Handelsblatt, citing sources at the European Commission, said the decision is now in its final stage and is likely to be announced before the summer recess. The newspaper added that the measure could be among the largest fines for violations of the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The antitrust probe was formally launched in Mar. last year. At issue is the suspicion that Google favors its own services in search results. Reuters said the investigation also includes the aim of checking whether Google's service operations comply with DMA rules.
However, the European Commission's position is that it is placing more weight on Google's compliance than on imposing a fine itself.
European Commission Spokesperson Thomas Regnier said in an emailed statement, "The European Commission is more interested in ensuring Google complies with local rules than in imposing fines."
He added, "Even while negotiations on future solutions are underway, we are focused on moving to the next steps as quickly as possible."
Google maintained that EU regulations degrade the quality of its search service, while saying it would actively engage in consultations to resolve the issues.
A Google Spokesperson said, "Under the DMA, we have already applied several changes to our search service," adding, "As a result, Google Search has experienced the highest level of quality degradation in its history."
The company protested, "In the process of reflecting the demands of some stakeholders, other European users ended up receiving more outdated information."
Earlier this month, the European Commission said, "Considering that Google's proposed remedies were not sufficient, we granted additional time to address our concerns."