Google is in the sights of the EU regulators, with the search giant set to be charged with breaching EU rules aimed at checking the power of Big Tech.
According to Reuters, sources state that this comes after proposed changes to Google's search results failed to address the EU antitrust regulator's concerns and those of its rivals.
Although the potential sanctions are levelled at its search result, the interconnected nature between it and Google's UC solutions, plus the growing tensions between the US and the EU, could see such sanctions have a knock-on effect on it Workspace suite.
The Charge at Google
The European Commission has been investigating Google for potential breaches of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) since March last year.
One probe focuses on whether Google favours its vertical search engines such as Google Shopping, Google Flights and Google Hotels over rivals, and whether it discriminates against third-party services on Google search results.
Although Google has reportedly been working to find solutions with the EU Commission since December, with a post from its EMEA Competition Director Oliver Bethell stating as such and announcing a series of changes to search results, the majority have been dismissed as not DMA-compliant.
Penalties for falling afoul with the DMA can see offenders issued with a fine of up to 10 per cent of the concerned gatekeeper's annual turnover, 20 per cent for repeat offenders, and even the imposition of structural remedies, such as forcing an organization to divest certain parts of its business.
This is something Google is unlikely to be happy with. Ordinarily, this would result in a raft of appeals and legal challenges.
However, with the air in EU-US relations significantly shifting as of late, the other option for Google could be to pull services and products from the market.
How Could Google's UC Solutions be Affected?
US tech companies have been increasingly emboldened by President Trump's rhetoric on tariffs and protectionism to increasingly fight back against moves against them.
Just this month, Apple pulled its data protection tool after the UK government demanded access to user data. The result is that customers in the UK no longer have access to the highest level of data security tools.
