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5 EUROPE 15.9.2022 THE European Court of Justice's General Court mostly confirmed a Euro- pean Commission decision to slap Google with a fine of more than four billion eu- ros for stifling competition through the dominance of Android. e court said it was ap- propriate to impose a fine of €4.125bn (£3.5 billion) on Google, slightly lower than the original €4.34bn penalty. In addition, the court said its reasoning for the decision differed "in certain respects" from the Commission's. e fine is one of three anti-competition penalties totalling more than €8bn (£6.9bn) that the European Commission imposed on Google between 2017 and 2019. In its original decision, the Commission said Google's practices restrict competi- tion and reduce choices for consumers. It determined that Google broke EU rules by requiring smartphone makers to take a bundle of Google apps if they wanted any at all, as well as preventing them from selling devices with altered versions of Android. e bundle of Google apps contained 11 titles, in- cluding YouTube, Maps and Gmail, but regulators fo- cused on the three that had the biggest market share: Google Search, Chrome and the company's Play Store for apps. Google was also dealt a hefty financial blow in South Korea, where the country's privacy watchdog handed down a fine of of 69.2 billion won (£43.3m) for tracking consumers' online behaviour without their consent and using their data for targeted ad- vertisements. South Korea's Personal In- formation and Protection Commission said it fined Google, as well as Meta (which was fined 30.8 bil- lion won; £19.05m), after a meeting where officials agreed the companies' busi- ness practices might cause serious privacy infringe- ments. e fines are the big- gest penalties imposed by South Korea for privacy law violations, the commis- sion said in a press release. Both companies rejected the commission's findings, with Meta indicating that it could challenge the fine in court. e fines can be appealed through administrative cas- es, which must be filed with- in 90 days after the compa- nies are formally notified of the commission's decision. According to the com- mission, Google and Meta (which operates Facebook and Instagram) did not clearly inform users or ob- tain their consent as they collected information about their online activities when they used other websites or services outside their own platforms. Such data was used to analyse their interests and create individually custom- ised advertisements, the commission said. e commission ordered the companies to provide an "easy and clear" process of consent giving people more control over whether to share information about what they do online. "Google did not clearly inform consumers that it would collect and use their behavioural information about their use of other companies' (services) when they signed up," the com- mission said. "Meta did not present the content of consent in a way that could be easily seen by consumers when they signed up and just included the content in their full data policy statement. "It did not specifically in- form consumers of the le- gally required notifications and did not obtain their consent." e commission said the companies' practices seri- ously threatened privacy rights as more than 82 per cent of South Koreans us- ing Google and more than 98 per cent using Meta have let the companies track their online activities. Google disagreed with the commission's findings. In a statement, it said that it has always demonstrated a commitment to "making ongoing updates that give users control and transpar- ency". e company said it will review the commission's findings once it receives the fully written decision. Meta said it will consid- er "all options", including seeking a ruling from court. "We are confident that we work with our clients in a legally compliant way that meets the processes re- quired by local regulations," Meta said in an emailed statement. £3.5bn fine for Google from EU over Android's anti-competition activities EU eyes ban on products from forced labour after concern over China One of the European Union's highest courts has largely upheld a huge fine issued to Google by the bloc's anti-competition watchdog in 2018 over the tech giant's Android mobile operating system THE European Commission proposed on Wednesday an EU ban on products made using forced labor, with legisla- tion that will add to existing U.S. pres- sure on China but will likely change be- fore it enters force. e European Union executive does not name any country in its proposal, but it follows a European Parliament call for such a law in June that high- lighted concerns over human rights in China's Xinjiang region. Rights groups accuse Beijing of abus- es against Uyghurs, a mainly Muslim ethnic minority, in Xinjiang, including mass forced labor in internment camps. e U.S., which accuses China of gen- ocide, introduced a law in 2021 that broadly prohibits importing goods from Xinjiang. China denies abuses in the region, a major cotton producer that also sup- plies materials for solar panels. e EU proposal highlights the 27.6 million people the International La- bor Organization says were engaged in forced labor in 2021, 11% more than in 2016. Just over half were in the Asia-Pacific region, although the highest level per capita was in Arab states. Forced la- bor was also a problem in high-income countries. e European Commission is pro- posing that national agencies in the 27-member EU should establish wheth- er forced labor has been used to make a product. e commission would pub- lish decisions on a website to guide cus- toms authorities. e ban should apply to all products, including components, and to all levels of production from extraction or har- vest to manufacturing as well as to EU- made products and EU exports. e new law might not lead to major changes in trade flows, but would in- crease pressure on companies to mon- itor supply chains. Greens EU lawmaker Anna Cavazzini welcomed the broad proposal, but ex- pressed concern that products would only be blocked at the end of an investi- gation and said the burden of proof was not on companies after allegations of forced labor, as it is in the U.S. e European Parliament and EU gov- ernments will almost certainly modify the proposal and will need to agree be- fore it enters force. European Union Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager

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