Global Glimpses

The European Commission has fined Google €4.34 billion (U.S. $5.05 billion) for breaching EU antitrust rules.

Several consumer advocacy groups in the United States are urging the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to investigate what they say are “misleading and manipulative tactics” by Google and Facebook in violation of the General Data Protection Regulation.

Privacy advocates wasted no time filing numerous complaints against a handful of technology companies, including Facebook and Google, for violations of the EU’s General Data Protection regulation, which came into force May 25.

The European Union’s antitrust watchdog this week fined Google a record €2.42 billion for breaching EU antitrust rules.

There is a troubling trend for large companies to equate risk appetite with tax avoidance. Just ask Google, as the company is in talks to correct taxation of its Italian business.

This week, Europe’s Antitrust Chief Margrethe Vestager escalated a running regulatory battle with American tech giant Google—and Amazon is not too far behind. While the European Union launched an investigation into Amazon’s business practices last week, Vestager recently warned the online retailer about abusing its dominance in the marketplace by prohibiting publishers from offering better prices to competitors. As for Google, critics are expected to receive the EU’s full antitrust charge sheet against the search engine in the coming days.  Details inside.

The European Union Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager confirmed that the watchdog is continuing its investigation into Google for allegedly engaging in anti-competitive behavior. In an interview with BBC, Vestager said that more probes are ongoing into the tech giant’s role in mapping, travel, flight, and third-party data. Details inside.

The European Commission has placed Amazon, Starbucks, Fiat Finance and Trade, and Apple’s tax probe on hold amid concerns about obtaining information relating to these cases, said European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager in a testimony before the European Parliament. While Vestager did not give a new deadline for the completion of these cases, it does not mean they’ll be off the hook for long. Details inside.

The European Commission is expected to file a formal case against Google for abusing its dominance in the digital marketplace. Google now faces the possibility of being hit with $6 billion in fines, according to reports. Earlier this month, Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager made a pledge to “remove remaining barriers to ecommerce” to benefit European citizens and businesses. Details inside.

Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt met with the EU’s new antitrust chief on Monday. The search engine giant is being scrutinized by regulators for engaging in anticompetitive practices, potential antitrust violations, and oversight of privacy issues. In response to the mounting regulatory pressure, the company has realigned its European operations. Details inside.