Finance
Landmark EU tech rules holding back innovation, Google says
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 1, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 1, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Google argues that EU tech rules are stifling innovation and urges regulators for clearer guidance to benefit European users and businesses.
By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Alphabet's Google will on Tuesday warn EU antitrust regulators and its critics that landmark European Union rules aimed at reining in Big Tech are hampering innovation to the detriment of European users and businesses.
The U.S. tech giant will also urge regulators to give more detailed guidance to help it comply with the rules, and ask its critics to provide evidence of costs and benefits to prove their case.
Google is under pressure to address charges under the EU's Digital Markets Act that it favours its own services such as Google Shopping, Google Hotels and Google Flights over rivals. The charges may result in fines of as much as 10% of its global annual revenue.
Earlier this month, Google proposed more changes to its search results to better showcase rival products, but critics say these still do not ensure a level playing field.
"We remain genuinely concerned about real world consequences of the DMA, which are leading to worse online products and experiences for Europeans," Google's lawyer Clare Kelly will tell a workshop organised by the European Commission to give Google critics the opportunity to seek clarifications.
She will say changes implemented by Google to date after discussions with the Commission and its critics have resulted in European users paying more for travel tickets as they cannot directly access airline sites, according to a copy of her speech seen by Reuters.
Kelly will also say European airlines, hotels and restaurants have reported up to a 30% loss in direct booking traffic, while users have complained about clunky workarounds.
Google's other lawyer, Oliver Bethell, will ask regulators to spell out in detail what the company needs to do, and critics to come up with hard evidence.
"If we can understand precisely what compliance looks like, not just in theory, but taking account of on the ground experience, we can launch compliant services quickly and confidently across the EEA," he will say.
The EEA is the 27 EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
"We need help identifying the areas where we should focus. That means bringing real evidence of costs and benefits that we can take account of with the Commission," Bethell said.
The day-long workshop starts at 0700 GMT.
(Reporting by Foo Yun CheeEditing by Mark Potter)
Google claims that the Digital Markets Act is leading to worse online products and experiences for Europeans, resulting in higher costs for users.
Google is asking its critics to provide hard evidence of the costs and benefits associated with the regulations to support their claims.
European airlines, hotels, and restaurants have reported up to a 30% loss in direct booking traffic due to the changes implemented by Google.
Google is urging regulators to provide detailed guidance on compliance requirements, emphasizing the need for clarity based on real-world experiences.
Google's legal representatives express concern that the current regulations are hampering innovation and negatively impacting the online experience for users in Europe.
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