The 720 million Euro fine: France’s offensive against Big Tech

In the discussion on rules for big tech, the EU is also drawing inspiration from its member state France: While EU politicians are discussing a new law for digital markets (the DMA), France's competition authority (ADLC) completed an investigation against Google this summer and ruled against the tech giant. With success: For the first time, Google accepted the verdict and the fines totaling 720 million euros. In addition, it agreed to significant changes to allow for more and fair competition. Does the ruling herald a paradigm shift in regulating the major platforms? 

What was the French competition authority's approach? What instruments can be used to ensure competition in the markets of digital platforms? What can we in Germany learn from the case and what does it mean for the EU’s regulatory ambitions, specifically the DMA?  

In a virtual background discussion on November 25 at 09:00-10:00 (Berlin), Dr Stefan Heumann, Member of the Management Board of SNV addressed these questions with Pascale Déchamps (ADLC), who worked on the judgment against Google.