Google, parent Alphabet face Italy’s antitrust probe on unfair commercial practices

Italy’s competition authority opened a probe into Google and its parent company Alphabet Inc, alleging unfair commercial practices and incomplete information given to users of its services.

The investigation is focusing on the quality of information provided to users when “linking” to their services, the competition authority said in an emailed statement. It added that it’s unclear to users what effect their consent would have, and how their personal data is being used.

According to the regulator, Google’s request for consent “may constitute a misleading and aggressive commercial practice” that appears to be accompanied by incomplete information that could influence the choice of whether and to what extent consent should be given.

Google “will examine the case and work with the authorities,” the company said in a written statement.

The probe comes amid an increasing oversight by European regulators over the practices of big tech firms, including how they use personal data as well as potential abuse of market dominance.