LONDON - The European Union on Monday launched investigations into Alphabet, Apple and Meta for potentially breaching a landmark new law designed to prevent Big Tech having an unfair advantage over competitors.
To get around this, app developers sometimes "steer" consumers towards their own websites, encouraging them to make payments to them directly so they can swerve the big tech companies' extra charges.The EU fined the tech giant $2 billion earlier this month over claims it had blocked users of music streaming services from accessing discounts and promotions outside its own payments ecosystem.
Another of the EU's five investigations concerns whether Google prioritises its own services – such as Google Hotels or Google Flights – when users type queries into its search engine, potentially limiting business for rivals such as Booking.com or Skyscanner. In an attempt to comply with the rules, Meta introduced a "pay or be tracked" policy, which would charge consumers who do not consent to their data being collected and combined like this 9.99 euros for ad-free versions of the apps.
eDreams ODIGEO Urges European Commission to Take Firm Action Against Google's clear DMA Non-Compliance