Spain’s competition regulator CNMC has opened an inquiry into Google for potential anti-competitive licensing practices affecting publishers and news agencies, according to a statement released by the regulator on Tuesday.
The competition watchdog stated it would investigate “a series of practices that could imply an abuse of Google’s dominant position with regard to publishers of press publications and news agencies established in Spain”. The inquiry covers Google LLC, Google Ireland Ltd, Google Spain, S.L. and their parent organisation, Alphabet Inc.
The reported practices include distorting free competition and subjecting Spanish publishers and news agencies to unfair conditions, according to the watchdog authority.
The investigation was launched following a complaint from the Spanish Centre for Reproduction Rights (CEDRO). “Indications of possible infringement” were discovered against Google during its preliminary information-gathering phase, CNMC added. The inquiry is expected to span a period of 18 months.
Google has faced a strong regulatory reaction in response to its contentious news licensing practices, particularly in Europe. In July 2021, the search engine giant was fined over $590 million for violating an order concerning negotiation with news publishers regarding compensation for the use of their content.
The tech conglomerate has also been called out for its dominance in South Asian markets like Pakistan, where it is reported to pocket nearly 85 per cent of the total digital advertising revenue generated through news content by local outlets.
Recently, Meta threatened to suspend news content from Facebook and Instagram in Canada over the Online News Act, which, if adopted, would oblige tech companies to pay news publishers for their content. It would enable news organisations to negotiate for a larger share of the digital advertising revenue.
Before Meta’s threat, Google had started testing limited news censorship in response to the proposed legislation, following which it was questioned by the Canadian parliament.
