Brussels – Alphabet unit Google has two months to enhance the best way it presents web search results for flights and hotels and clarify the way it ranks these or face possible sanctions, the European Commission and EU consumer authorities mentioned on Monday.
The world’s most popular web search engine has long faced scrutiny from antitrust enforcers and consumer groups around the world over its business practices, which in some cases have landed it with hefty fines.
The most recent grievance centres on the costs of its services Google Flights and Google Hotels.
The final costs for these should include fees or taxes that can be calculated in advance, whereas reference costs used to calculate promoted discounts must be clearly identifiable, the EU executive and national consumer watchdogs, led by the Dutch agency and the Belgian Directorate-General for Economic Inspection, mentioned in a joint statement.
“EU consumers can’t be misled when using search engines to plan their holidays. We have to empower consumers to make their choices based on transparent and unbiased information,” EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders mentioned.
The agencies additionally informed Google to revise the standard terms of its Google Store because some cases confirmed that traders have more rights than consumers.
If Google’s proposals are not sufficient, the agencies will discuss the issue further with the company and may impose sanctions.
Google mentioned in a press release: “We welcome this dialogue and are working closely with consumer protection agencies and the European Commission to see how we can make improvements that will be good for our users and provide even more transparency.”
Courtesy: Reuters
