Google makes new proposal to stave off EU antitrust fine, document shows
The U.S. tech giant has been under pressure after being hit in March with European Union antitrust charges of unfairly favouring its own services such as Google Shopping, Google Hotels and Google Flights over competitors.
The company, owned by Alphabet, will meet its rivals and the European Commission to discuss its proposals during a July 7-8 workshop in Brussels, the document said.
The EU's landmark Digital Markets Act, under which Google has been charged, sets out a list of dos and don'ts for Big Tech aimed at curbing their power and giving rivals more room to compete and consumers more choice.
Last week, Google offered to create a box at the top of the search page for a so-called vertical search service (VSS) which would contain links to specialised search engines as well as to hotels, airlines, restaurants and transport services.
The latest offer, called Option B, is an alternative to last week's proposal, according to a Google document sent by the Commission to involved parties and seen by Reuters.
"Under 'Option B', whenever a VSS box is shown, Google will also show a box that includes free links to suppliers," the document said.
The box for suppliers, in essence hotels, restaurants, airlines and travel services, would be below the VSS box, with Google organising the information about the suppliers.
Option B "provides suppliers opportunities while not creating a box that can be characterised as a Google VSS", the document said.
"We've made hundreds of alterations to our products as part of our DMA compliance," a Google spokesperson said.
"While we strive for compliance, we remain genuinely concerned about some of the real world consequences of the DMA, which are leading to worse online products and experiences for Europeans."
Google risks a fine as much as 10% of its global annual revenue if found in breach of the DMA.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
27 minutes ago
- Mint
ASML, Airbus, Mistral Ask EU to Delay Start of AI Act Rules
(Bloomberg) -- European companies including ASML Holding NV, Airbus SE and Mistral AI have called on the European Union to suspend the implementation of its landmark artificial intelligence regulation for two years because they say it puts the continent's AI ambitions at risk. In a letter signed by representatives from more than 45 organizations, business leaders asked the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to postpone the application of rules hemming in the most powerful AI models, calling for a more 'innovation-friendly regulatory approach.' A significant part of the rules are set to come into force next month. 'This postponement, coupled with a commitment to prioritize regulatory quality over speed, would send innovators and investors around the world a strong signal that Europe is serious about its simplification and competitiveness agenda,' the letter said. Other businesses to sign the letter include Mercedes-Benz Group AG, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Lufthansa, Publicis Groupe SA, Prosus NV and Siemens Energy AG. They called for the delay to two sets of rules applying to general-purpose AI models and to high-risk AI systems. Businesses are complaining that the commission has failed to deliver key guidelines and standards, including a code of practice which provides instructions for advanced AI companies to comply with the regulation. The drafting of the code of practice — already late after the commission originally slated it for May — has been dogged by criticism. Technology companies have accused it of going beyond the bounds of the EU's AI Act and creating its own set of onerous rules. The US government has also weighed in, and in April sent letters to the commission and a number of European countries that urged the bloc to scrap the code in its current form. Now, these delays threaten to push back implementation of the act altogether. According to the EU's staggered deadline for the act, the most powerful AI models, such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, should be in compliance by August. But as of July the commission's working groups, made up of AI developers, academics and digital rights activists, were still hashing out detailed guidance. The AI Act, passed last year, is a set of controls meant to prevent the worst abuses of the technology. AI developers will have to provide information about how their models are trained and have policies respecting copyright law. The most sophisticated models will have to take additional steps to mitigate risk, shore up security and report information about their system architecture. The act also puts guardrails on some types of use, such as restrictions on tools that would identify people in public spaces in real time. While the code of practice is voluntary, it provides a framework that will help companies stay in compliance with the act. Breaking those rules can carry a fine of as much as 7% of a company's annual sales or 3% for the companies developing advanced AI models. Speaking virtually at a Brussels event in February, Meta Platforms Inc.'s head of global affairs Joel Kaplan called the code of practice 'unworkable and infeasible,' adding that the company would not sign it in its present form. Alphabet Inc. has also criticized the rulebook and an executive said in an interview with Politico in February that guidelines calling for third-party model testing and requirements around copyright protection go too far. The group organizing the letter, called the EU AI Champions Initiative, is led by General Catalyst, a US venture capital firm that has invested heavily in Europe. Two of Europe's largest tech companies, SAP SE and Spotify Technology SA, are members of the initiative, but were not signatories of the letter when it published on Thursday. --With assistance from Mark Bergen. (Updates in the tenth paragraph with context on the organizing group; a previous version corrected the list of signatories to remove SAP and change the number of people who signed) More stories like this are available on
Mint
32 minutes ago
- Mint
ASML, Mistral Ask EU to Delay Start of AI Act Rules
(Bloomberg) -- European companies including ASML Holding NV and Mistral AI have called on the European Union to suspend the implementation of its landmark artificial intelligence regulation because they say it puts the continent's AI ambitions at risk. In a letter signed by representatives from more than 45 organizations, business leaders asked the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to postpone the application of rules hemming in the most powerful AI models, calling for a more 'innovation-friendly regulatory approach.' 'This postponement, coupled with a commitment to prioritize regulatory quality over speed, would send innovators and investors around the world a strong signal that Europe is serious about its simplification and competitiveness agenda,' the letter said. Other businesses to sign the letter include Airbus SE, Mercedes-Benz Group AG, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Lufthansa, Publicis Groupe SA, Prosus NV and Siemens Energy AG. They called for the delay to two sets of rules applying to general-purpose AI models and to high-risk AI systems. Businesses are complaining that the commission has failed to deliver key guidelines and standards, including a code of practice which provides instructions for advanced AI companies to comply with the regulation. The drafting of the code of practice — already late after the commission originally slated it for May — has been dogged by criticism. Technology companies have accused it of going beyond the bounds of the EU's AI Act and creating its own set of onerous rules. The US government has also weighed in, and in April sent letters to the commission and a number of European countries that urged the bloc to scrap the code in its current form. Now, these delays threaten to push back implementation of the act altogether. According to the EU's staggered deadline for the act, the most powerful AI models, such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, should be in compliance by August. But as of July the commission's working groups, made up of AI developers, academics and digital rights activists, were still hashing out detailed guidance. The AI Act, passed last year, is a set of controls meant to prevent the worst abuses of the technology. AI developers will have to provide information about how their models are trained and have policies respecting copyright law. The most sophisticated models will have to take additional steps to mitigate risk, shore up security and report information about their system architecture. The act also puts guardrails on some types of use, such as restrictions on tools that would identify people in public spaces in real time. While the code of practice is voluntary, it provides a framework that will help companies stay in compliance with the act. Breaking those rules can carry a fine of as much as 7% of a company's annual sales or 3% for the companies developing advanced AI models. Speaking virtually at a Brussels event in February, Meta Platforms Inc.'s head of global affairs Joel Kaplan called the code of practice 'unworkable and infeasible,' adding that the company would not sign it in its present form. Alphabet Inc. has also criticized the rulebook and an executive said in an interview with Politico in February that guidelines calling for third-party model testing and requirements around copyright protection go too far. (Corrects to remove SAP from the list of signatories, changes the number of people who signed) More stories like this are available on
The Hindu
33 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Meta says will appeal 'unlawful' EU fine
Facebook owner Meta said it will appeal a 200-million-euro fine slapped on it by the EU after the bloc accused the company of breaking digital competition rules. The EU fined Meta in April over its "pay or consent" system because of how it said the company used personal data on Facebook and Instagram. "This decision is both incorrect and unlawful, and we are appealing it," Meta vice president Tim Lamb said in a blog post published on Wednesday. The fine against Meta concerned its "pay for privacy" system, which rights defenders have vehemently criticised in Europe after its introduction in November 2023. It means users have to pay to avoid data collection, or agree to share their data with Facebook and Instagram to keep using the platforms for free. The European Commission in April concluded Meta did not provide users with a less personalised but equivalent version of the platforms. It also warned Meta faced potential daily penalties under the landmark Digital Markets Act (DMA) unless it complied with the law within 60 days. That deadline ran out last week but the commission said on Wednesday that after receiving information from the company, it was assessing whether they are now complying. Defending its system, Meta's Lamb pointed to an EU court ruling in 2023 that he said opened the way for subscriptions as a legally valid option. "Yet the (April) decision ignores this ruling. Instead, it claims that the (top EU court's) crucial judgment is not relevant and incorrectly concludes that Meta's user choice does not comply with the DMA. This stance is perplexing," he wrote.
