European authorities are reportedly readying a new investigation into Google’s parent company, potentially throwing a wrench into efforts to ease transatlantic trade tensions.
EU officials are preparing a probe into the tech giant over its demotion of certain news outlets in its search results, the Financial Times said.
European regulation of US Big Tech is a bugbear of Washington’s, so the timing of the inquiry is tricky for Brussels, which is looking to propose the next phase of its trade truce with Washington, according to Bloomberg.
Brussels’ challenge points to a difficult truth: Where once it dealt with Washington as an economic if not geopolitical peer, Europe must now “reconcile itself with being the junior transatlantic partner,” one expert noted.