A group of 135 emerging businesses and technology firms, offering services in sectors like travel planning, lodging, and employment, have addressed a letter to the European Commission. They are requesting antitrust measures be taken against Google, emphasizing that prompt action is crucial for the continued viability of their companies.

The group additionally contends that the Commission must proceed without delay to avoid jeopardizing the ongoing development of its digital regulatory reforms, which are scheduled to be presented in a preliminary version next month.

The letter includes signatures from established internet companies like Booking.com, Expedia, Kayak, OpenTable, Tripadvisor, and Yelp, alongside numerous (primarily) smaller European startups operating within those three key areas.

An additional 30 organizations and business associations from related fields, including media and publishing, have also added their support, bringing the total number of entities requesting strong antitrust enforcement against Google to 165.

A representative from the European Commission has acknowledged to TechCrunch that they have received the letter from Google’s critics and stated they will provide a response at a later time.

‘Not Competing on Merit’

Concerns have been raised previously regarding this issue – the Commission has acknowledged receiving reports of dissatisfaction within the travel industry for several years – but a growing number of businesses, including some located in the United States, are uniting to urge the EU’s antitrust chief to restrict Google’s influence. This coalition includes companies in sectors like job listings, in addition to the travel startups whose concerns were previously reported.

According to Reuters, which initially obtained the document, this coalition represents the largest collective complaint ever submitted to the EU’s competition division.

The group’s letter, which TechCrunch has examined, asserts that Google is contravening a 2017 EU competition ruling concerning Google Shopping, which prohibited the technology company from prioritizing its own services and unfairly downgrading competitors.

The group contends that Google is improperly utilizing its leading position in internet search to increase its market share in various specialized sectors. They highlight a feature Google displays prominently at the top of search results – known as “OneBoxes” – which directs users to its own services while simultaneously diverting them from those of its rivals.

The Commission is evaluating potential limitations on this type of self-preferencing within upcoming legislative proposals aimed at dominant “gatekeeper” internet platforms – a category Google would likely fall under.

Currently, however, no such regulations are in place, and the coalition argues that the Commission must proactively enforce its existing antitrust authority to halt Google’s alleged market abuse before it irreparably harms their businesses.

“Google’s integration of its own specialized search services into its broadly used general search service continues to represent a clear abuse of its dominant position,” they state in their letter to Vestager.

“Unlike any other service, Google has accumulated data and content relevant to competition in these markets at the expense of others – namely, us,” they continue. “Google did not achieve its standing in these markets through legitimate competition. There is now widespread agreement that Google gained unfair advantages by giving preferential treatment to its own services within its general search results pages through the display of various grouped specialized search results.”

A comparable accusation of Google unfairly promoting its own services over competitors’ is present in the antitrust lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice last month, which undoubtedly encourages Google complainants to intensify their efforts in Europe.

In 2017, the Commission determined that Google held a dominant position in internet search. EU law dictates that this dominance carries a responsibility to refrain from repeating the infringing behaviors identified in the Google Shopping case across other business areas, irrespective of market share.

Antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager has established a reputation for challenging large technology companies during her initial (and current second) term as the Commission’s competition head, now combined with a role in shaping the bloc’s digital strategy.

However, despite Google facing enforcement actions under her leadership regarding its Shopping search (2017), Android mobile operating system (2018), and AdSense search ad brokering business (2019), antitrust complainants maintain that these regulatory measures have failed to diminish the tech giant’s dominance or restore competition in those markets or others.

“The Commission’s Google Search (Shopping) decision of June 27, 2017, was intended to establish a precedent that Google is not permitted to promote its own services within the search results pages of its dominant general search service. However, to date, this decision has not resulted in any meaningful changes by Google,” the coalition argues in their letter dated November 12, 2020.

The Commission asserts that its Shopping decision has led to a substantial increase in the visibility of competitor offers within Google’s Shopping units (up 73.5%), also noting a near-equal click rate between Google’s offers and those of its rivals. However, if Google is offsetting losses in market share in Shopping searches by increasing its share in other sectors (such as travel and jobs), this would not represent a balanced and effective antitrust solution.

Notably, the signatures on the recent letter include the CEO of Foundem, the original complainant in the Google Shopping case.

In a statement today, a Commission spokesperson stated: “We continue to carefully monitor the market to assess the effectiveness of the remedies,” adding: “Shopping is just one of the specialized search services that Google offers. The decision we made in June 2017 provides a framework for examining other specialized search services, such as Google jobs and local search. Our preliminary investigation in this area is ongoing.”

Regarding the Commission’s upcoming Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act package, the coalition suggests that a lack of immediate action to curb Google’s potentially abusive behavior could jeopardize the ability of those future regulations to rectify such practices.

“If, in the ongoing competition investigations, the Commission accepts Google’s current conduct as ‘equal treatment,’ this creates a risk of predefining and thus diminishing the significance of any future legislative ban on self-preferencing,” they caution, adding that: “Competition and innovation will continue to be suppressed, simply because the necessary measures to counter further anti-competitive expansion are not taken immediately.”

They also argue that the legislative process is too slow to serve as an effective antitrust remedy, potentially leaving their businesses unable to survive Google in the interim.

“While targeted regulation of digital gatekeepers may be helpful in the long term, the Commission should first utilize its existing tools to enforce the Shopping precedent and ensure equal treatment within Google’s general search results pages,” they urge, expressing general support for the Commission’s plan to regulate “dominant general search engines” but emphasizing the importance of swift action.

“We face the immediate risk of being displaced by Google. Many of us may not have the strength and resources to wait until such regulation becomes fully effective,” they add. “Action is required now. If Google is allowed to continue favoring its own specialized search services until meaningful regulation takes effect, our services will continue to lack traffic, data, and the opportunity to innovate on merit. Until then, our businesses remain trapped in a detrimental cycle – benefiting Google’s competing services while rendering our own obsolete.”

In response to the group’s criticism of its business practices, a Google spokesperson provided this statement: “People expect Google to provide them with the most relevant, high-quality search results they can trust. They do not expect us to favor specific companies or commercial rivals, or to stop launching helpful services that create more choice and competition for Europeans.”