GERMAN PRESSURE

Germany’s antitrust watchdog announced Tuesday that it has launched two investigations into Google’s market power and handling of user data.

The agency will analyze whether Google and its parent company, Alphabet, have dominance in multiple markets.

“An ecosystem which extends across various markets may be an indication that a company holds such a market position,” Andreas Mundt, president of the Federal Cartel Office, said in a statement.

“Due to the large number of digital services offered by Google, such as the Google search engine, YouTube, Google Maps, the Android operating system or the Chrome browser, the company could be considered to be of paramount significance for competition across markets,” Mundt continued.

The second investigation will focus on Google’s data processing terms and whether users have “sufficient choice” over how their information is managed. The Federal Cartel Office launched a similar investigation into Facebook in 2019 that is pending in court.