The U.S. Warned the European Union Against Punishing Google Under the Digital Markets Act

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Jacob Helberg warned the European Commission amid reports of a possible major fine against Google.

The warning followed a Handelsblatt report saying the European Commission is preparing charges against Google under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). According to the newspaper, Brussels believes Google is artificially boosting the ranking of its own services in search results while downgrading competitors.

Commenting on the reports, Helberg said Washington was “deeply concerned” about the EU’s possible actions.

“Targeting American firms with punitive measures would be a serious mistake that undermines private investment and economic growth in Europe. We will be monitoring the situation closely,” the U.S. deputy secretary of state said.

According to Handelsblatt, the potential fine could amount to hundreds of millions of euros.

The Digital Markets Act is a new European law aimed at limiting the dominance of the largest technology platforms. It allows the European Commission to fine companies up to 10% of their global annual turnover for violating competition rules.