US court ruling: Google avoids split-up
In the Google antitrust lawsuit that began five years ago, a US court has ruled that in future the IT giant's parent company Alphabet will have to share data from its search engine with competitors but it doesn't have to be split up, and neither the browser Chrome nor the operating system Android have to be sold. Commentators examine the ramifications for Europe's digital policy.
Now the competition must step up
Although the ruling is not a breakthrough it does offer a glimmer of hope, L'Echo writes:
“The most promising sanction concerns the huge amount of data that Google has amassed. The Internet giant will have to share this treasure trove with its competitors. ... Google must grant access to the billions of search requests entered in its search engine, as well as in its in-house generative AI Gemini. Let's hope that competitors will make good use of this valuable data to train their AIs and develop a real alternative to Google's services. More cannot be expected from this decision, which reveals the powerlessness of the courts to bring down the new tech monopolies.”
The EU Commission will back down
taz suspects that the big tech companies won't be subjected to proper regulation in Europe either:
“Trump's threats seem to have done a good job. In the trade dispute which he himself started, the US president has made it very clear that he will use any regulation that affects US tech companies as an excuse for further tariff hikes. And it looks as if the EU Commission fears this more than the negative consequences of inadequate rule-setting and enforcement for powerful corporations. This basic sentiment is all the more fatal in view of technological developments and what lies ahead in the coming years: namely the growing importance of artificial intelligence.”
Do not cave in to Trump
Europe must not be intimidated by the US president's threats when it comes to tech regulation, the Frankfurter Rundschau argues:
“Two examples should serve as a warning to Europeans. Canada dismantled digital laws and rejected plans for stricter rules in a bid to accommodate Trump, but he ended up imposing tariffs that were higher than anything previously on the table. And India abolished its digital tax in March in the hope of escaping Trump's wrath - and was punished with tariffs of 50 percent. This shows that Europe can no longer hope that appeasement will help. ... Brussels can still enforce European law, penalise Google and avoid setting a precedent. With this course of action the Commission would send a clear signal to Washington: Europe is no longer willing to be led by the nose by Trump.”