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Mexico Closes Antitrust Case Against Google, No Fines Imposed

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Mexico’s Federal Economic Competition Commission (Cofece) announced on Friday the closure of its multi-year antitrust investigation into Google, clearing the tech giant of allegations related to monopolistic practices in the country. The probe, initiated in 2020, focused on Google’s digital advertising services both on its search engine and third-party websites.

Cofece’s investigation examined whether Google’s advertising platform design gave it an unfair advantage over competitors in the digital advertising market. The watchdog concluded that advertisers were not compelled to purchase ads on third-party sites to advertise on Google’s search engine, effectively negating claims of monopoly abuse.

A Google spokesperson welcomed the decision, stating, “We appreciate COFECE’s decision recognizing that our products give advertisers the freedom and control to use our tools in the ways that best suit their needs.”

Had Cofece found Google guilty, the company could have faced fines up to 8% of its annual revenue in Mexico. Although Alphabet does not publicly disclose specific revenue for Mexico, its “other Americas” region, which includes Latin America, generated approximately $20.4 billion in 2024.

Google continues to face antitrust scrutiny worldwide. In the United States, courts have ruled that Google holds unlawful monopolies in online search and advertising technologies. U.S. regulators have pushed for measures including data sharing and divestitures of key advertising assets to foster competition.

Google’s $32 Billion Acquisition of Wiz Faces U.S. Antitrust Review, Bloomberg Reports

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The U.S. Justice Department is reviewing Google’s planned $32 billion acquisition of cybersecurity firm Wiz to determine if the deal could unlawfully reduce competition in the marketplace, according to Bloomberg News citing sources familiar with the matter.

This acquisition would be Alphabet’s largest to date and aims to integrate Wiz into Google’s cloud division, bolstering its cybersecurity offerings for enterprise customers to manage critical risks.

Both Google and the DOJ declined to comment, and Wiz did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request. The deal reportedly gained momentum after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, amid expectations of a more favorable antitrust environment.

Executives at Wiz reportedly remained cautious following the collapse of Adobe’s $20 billion attempt to buy Figma due to antitrust challenges in late 2023. Google has agreed to pay Wiz over $3.2 billion if the deal fails to close.

Trump’s appointments of Andrew Ferguson as FTC chair and Gail Slater to oversee DOJ antitrust reviews reportedly increased confidence in a smoother regulatory process.

This scrutiny arrives as Google also faces ongoing DOJ lawsuits alleging monopoly abuses in online search and advertising technology markets. In April, a U.S. judge ruled Google liable for “willfully acquiring and maintaining monopoly power” in publisher ad servers and ad exchange markets.

Meta and TikTok Challenge EU Tech Supervisory Fees at General Court

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Meta Platforms and TikTok have taken their dispute over the European Union’s supervisory fees to the EU General Court, the bloc’s second highest judicial authority. Both companies argue that the fees imposed under the 2022 Digital Services Act (DSA) are disproportionate and based on flawed calculations.

The DSA requires large online platforms, including Meta, TikTok, and 16 other firms, to pay an annual supervisory fee of 0.05% of their global net income. This fee is intended to cover the European Commission’s costs for monitoring compliance with the law. The fee’s size depends on each company’s average monthly active users and their profit or loss status in the previous year.

Meta questioned the methodology used by the Commission, saying it unfairly applied group-level revenue rather than that of the subsidiary. Meta’s lawyer, Assimakis Komninos, criticized the fee’s calculation as opaque and inconsistent with the DSA’s principles, describing it as a “black box” that led to “implausible and absurd results.”

TikTok, owned by ByteDance, echoed these concerns. TikTok’s lawyer Bill Batchelor accused the Commission of inflating fees through double-counting users who access the platform on multiple devices and argued that the fee exceeded legal limits by referencing group profits rather than individual entities.

The European Commission defended its approach. Commission lawyer Lorna Armati said using consolidated group profits was justified, as the group’s total financial resources are available to pay the fee. She also rejected claims of insufficient transparency or unfair treatment.

The court is expected to deliver its ruling on these cases, Meta Platforms Ireland v Commission and TikTok Technology v Commission, next year.