EU to Investigate Apple, Google, Meta for Potential Digital Markets Act Breaches

FILE - The Apple logo is illuminated at a store in Munich, Germany, Monday, Nov. 13, 2023.  (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
FILE - The Apple logo is illuminated at a store in Munich, Germany, Monday, Nov. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
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EU to Investigate Apple, Google, Meta for Potential Digital Markets Act Breaches

FILE - The Apple logo is illuminated at a store in Munich, Germany, Monday, Nov. 13, 2023.  (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
FILE - The Apple logo is illuminated at a store in Munich, Germany, Monday, Nov. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)

EU antitrust regulators on Monday opened their first investigations under the Digital Markets Act into Apple, Alphabet's Google and Meta Platforms for potential breaches of the landmark EU tech rules.

"The (European) Commission suspects that the measures put in place by these gatekeepers fall short of effective compliance of their obligations under the DMA," the EU executive said in a statement.

The EU competition enforcer will investigate Alphabet's rules on steering in Google Play and self-preferencing on Google Search, Apple's rules on steering in the App Store and the choice screen for Safari and Meta's 'pay or consent model'.

The Commission also launched investigatory steps relating to Apple's new fee structure for alternative app stores and Amazon's ranking practices on its marketplace.



Google to Open Second Data Center in Latin America, to Invest Over $850 Mln 

The president of Google Cloud for Latin America, Eduardo Lopez, participates in the inauguration of the Google Data Center works, on the premises of the Science Park, in Canelones, Uruguay 29 August 2024. (EPA)
The president of Google Cloud for Latin America, Eduardo Lopez, participates in the inauguration of the Google Data Center works, on the premises of the Science Park, in Canelones, Uruguay 29 August 2024. (EPA)
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Google to Open Second Data Center in Latin America, to Invest Over $850 Mln 

The president of Google Cloud for Latin America, Eduardo Lopez, participates in the inauguration of the Google Data Center works, on the premises of the Science Park, in Canelones, Uruguay 29 August 2024. (EPA)
The president of Google Cloud for Latin America, Eduardo Lopez, participates in the inauguration of the Google Data Center works, on the premises of the Science Park, in Canelones, Uruguay 29 August 2024. (EPA)

Alphabet's Google said on Thursday it will open its second data center in Latin America in the Uruguayan city of Canelones and invest more than $850 million in it.

Google opened its first data center in Latin America in Quilicura, which is near Santiago, the capital city of Chile, in 2015. It invested an initial amount of $150 million in the data center and spent an additional $140 million in 2018 for expansion.

"We hope our new data center in Canelones will be a significant contribution to the professional and technological development of Uruguay and the entire region," Google said in a blog post.

Reuters reported on Thursday that Google is considering building a "hyperscale" data center close to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and that the center would be ready in 2027.

In April, Google announced a $3 billion investment to set up a data center campus in Indiana and expand sites in Virginia. Google also said in May that it will invest $2 billion in Malaysia to develop its first data center and Google Cloud region in the country.