Germany: Bundeskartellamt opens investigation into Google News Showcase for potential anti-competitive practices

On 4 June 2021, the Bundeskartellamt announced the opening of an investigation into 'Google News Showcase', a service provided by Google/Alphabet. The service presents journalistic content of various publications to users in form of 'story panels', for which Google pays licensing fees. According to Google, it is looking to integrate the use of story panels into its general search functions, allowing publishers to potentially present their content to users in more prominent or attractive ways. Acting on a complaint, the Bundeskartellamt seeks to examine whether the integration of Google News Showcase functions into general search functions constituted self-preferencing; whether unreasonable conditions are imposed on participating publishers; and the conditions for access to Google News Showcase. The investigation will follow up on the general investigation into Google opened on 25 May 2021 and is based on the new Section 19a of the German Competition Act, which allows the German Competition Authority to intervene earlier.