Google takes a dig at Europe's new rules, says small firms and users are 'hurting'

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Europe has come down hard with regulations imposed on big tech companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft and others. While left with little choice, it clearly hasn’t gone down too well with tech companies. Google has now taken quite a few digs at the new Digital Markets Act that has been enforced by European Union. In a blog post, Adam Cohen, director, economic policy, Google, shared some of the company’s concerns about users being affected after imposition of DMA.

“Under the DMA, we’ve had to remove useful Google Search features for flights, hotels and local businesses. This means that if you search for a flight in Europe, we can no longer show a full array of information about carriers, flight times and prices,”  said Cohen. According to Google, while a small number of online travel aggregators stand to benefit from the forced changes, a large number of airlines, small firms, hotels will find it tough to directly reach customers.

Cohen said that direct booking clicks for hotel are down as much as 30% since the DMA was implemented. “These businesses now have to connect with customers via a handful of intermediaries that typically charge large commissions, while traffic from Google was free. European airlines and local businesses have expressed similar concerns,” he noted.

Users, as per Cohen, have also shared negative views about changes to the display of Google Maps in Search. “Many European users are raising concerns on message boards and in our help forums that they no longer see a useful Google Maps tab on our Search results page,” Cohen pointed out.

Google said that if other countries are thinking of implementing such rules, then they should think again. “Rules that roll back some of these advances represent a fundamental shift in competition policy. We encourage other countries contemplating such rules to consider the potential adverse consequences — including those for the small businesses that don’t have a voice in the regulatory process,” Cohen added.