The Repression of Fraud announced on Tuesday that it had imposed an administrative fine of just over 2 million euros against Google, which it said did not respect its obligations in terms of consumer information, in connection with its search engine in particular.
The national investigation service of the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF) has delivered its verdict. On Tuesday, he formalized the fine of 2.015 million euros imposed on Google, guilty of ” not having provided clear, fair and transparent information to consumers using its digital platform “. The Mountain View firm, contacted by Clubic, regrets the decision and explains why.
Shortcomings noted on the search but also on the Play Store
The facts for which the Google company has just been sanctioned date back to March 2021, almost two and a half years ago. At the time, the DGCCRF had noted a lack of information on the search engine, a defect relating to the criteria for ranking the results.
Another point raised by the Repression of fraud: the absence of communication relating to the tariff conditions of the offers of tourist accommodation proposed on the model of search and comparison of Google, an actor which now counts on this sector. The service had at the time noted that it lacked information on the cancellability or reimbursement (or not) of the offer, or on the inclusion or not of breakfast in the price.
Shortcomings were also noted on the side of the Google Play Store, with a noticeable absence of information on the criteria for ranking applications and results, in addition to those on payment methods. The DGCRRF also criticized Google for not informing mobile users of the reasons that led to the refusal of their opinions.
Google made changes several months ago
If this undoubtedly played on the amount of the sanction, the Fraud Repression concedes that Google “ has since corrected some of the breaches sanctioned “, which challenges the company all the more, which we were able to contact at the end of the morning and which regrets that the changes effective for several months on its services have not been taken into account by the DGCCRF.
” We have always been transparent with our users about how our products work. In order to continue to develop our products and to work constructively with French and European regulators, we have made changes, effective for several months, in order to provide clear explanations on the functioning of our products. », Explains Google.
Google, recently sentenced by the Court of Justice of the European Union to a fine of 4.1 billion euros for abuse of a dominant position of its Android mobile operating system and its search engine, has some changes. On its hotel comparator, for example, Google clearly indicates for each establishment whether breakfast is included. Several changes (on the classification criteria or on the information given to consumers) have also been made on the Play Store.
Sources: Clubic, DGCCRF
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