Poland's antitrust watchdog said Monday it suspects Alphabet's Google of abusing its dominant position in negotiations over content payments with local media publishers. The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, known by its Polish abbreviation UOKiK, said the charges relate to how Google negotiates remuneration for displaying articles and snippets in its search results, Google News and Discover services. UOKiK alleges Google failed to provide publishers with the necessary data to properly assess offers, leading to an information imbalance that prevented fair negotiations on payment for content. "Big tech companies cannot place themselves above the law," UOKiK President Tomasz Chrostny said in the statement, adding the lack of data led to negotiations becoming illusory and tending towards Google imposing terms. The maximum fine for abusing a dominant market position may amount to 10% of a company's turnover, the regulator said.
Alphabet Inc Class CPoland's UOKiK accuses Google of abusing dominance in content-payment negotiations with publishers, with a possible fine up to 10% of turnover.
