German watchdog puts Google under closer anti-competition scrutiny

Entrance to Google head offices in Kings Cross, London (Nick Ansell/PA)

Germany’s anti-competition watchdog has paved the way for extra scrutiny of Google by designating it a company of “paramount significance”, the first to get that label since regulators got more power to curb abusive practices by big digital companies.

Rules were introduced last year that allow the regulator “to intervene earlier and more effectively” to ban companies from using anti-competitive practices. The decision by the Bundeskartellamt, or Federal Cartel Office, which will last for five years, gives it extended powers to supervise Google for “abuse control”.