Italy’s competition authority AGCM said on Thursday it had launched an investigation against Google for suspected abuse of its dominant position in data portability, an accusation the Alphabet unit denied.
The watchdog said in a statement that Google allegedly hindered interoperability with other platforms, particularly with Weople, an app by Italian operator Hoda, which could “constrain the economic benefits that consumers can derive from their data” and limit competition.
Giving such access, it said, would mean “putting people’s privacy at risk, as well as encouraging fraudulent activities. There are already ways for companies to increase direct portability of data in their services.”
Under Italian law, Google faces a fine of up to 10% of its annual global sales if found guilty of abusing its position.
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