EU continues American Big Tech battle with big Google fine

It’s getting increasingly expensive for Alphabet to operate in Europe after back to back years of 10-figure fines on the continent

American tech companies are suffering from their success across the pond.

European regulators have taken a hard look at the Silicon Valley tech giants that dominate the market share on the continent in recent years.

Google parent Alphabet, Apple, Amazon, Facebook parent Meta Platforms and Microsoft have faced steep fines and years of litigation over practices that don’t receive as much scrutiny domestically.

Earlier this month, €405 million ($402 million) by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, the second largest fine ever issued under the EU’s privacy rules.

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That comes after Italy slapped Amazon with a $1.3 billion fine for crowding out its competitors by favoring third-party sellers that use the company’s logistics services.

“Large gatekeeper platforms have prevented businesses and consumers from the benefits of competitive digital markets. The gatekeepers will now have to comply with a well-defined set of obligations and prohibitions,” the EU said after adopting the Digital Markets Act earlier this year that aims to make the tech sector “fairer and contestable.”

Read more: The Street