Italian Competition Authority Probes Google Over Alleged Unfair Trade Practices

Italian Competition Authority Probes Google Over Alleged Unfair Trade Practices

States that the US tech giant provides no clear information about the effect of users’ information

The Italian Competition Authority has begun investigating Google and its parent company Alphabet over suspected ‘unfair commercial practices’ linked to user data consent requests sent to consumers.

In a statement, the competition watchdog held, "The request for consent that Google submits to its users to link the services offered, may constitute a misleading and aggressive commercial practice.”

It added, "It appears to be accompanied by inadequate, incomplete and misleading information and could influence the choice of whether and to what extent consent should be given."

The US tech giant seeks consent from users to aggregate and use their personal data across its different services, including search engines, Maps service and YouTube. The request provides little or no clear information about the effect the consent has on its usage.”

The competition authority also accused Google of using “techniques and methods for requesting consent, and also for setting up the mechanisms for obtaining consent, which could condition the freedom of choice of the average consumer."

In 2021, Italy’s authority imposed a fine of 10 million euros ($10.9 million) on Google and its rival Apple for failing to provide adequate information to users and resorting to ‘aggressive methods’ in data usage for commercial purposes.

It revealed that neither company provided ‘clear and immediate information’.

In May 2021, the authority penalized Google over 100 million euros ($109 million) for abusing its dominant market position by shutting out a rival's smartphone app for users of electric vehicles.