SIIA Statement on European Commission Penalties on Google

The following statement can be attributed to Chris Mohr, President, the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA).

The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) regrets the European Commission's decision to impose €890 million ($1 billion) in penalties on Google for alleged non-compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) over its Search features and Google Play practices.

The goal of competition law in general, and of the DMA specifically, should be to promote competition and consumer welfare-not to protect the interests of individual competitors. Instead, it reflects a regulatory approach that substitutes government intervention for market competition, creating rules that risk discouraging innovation, reducing consumer choice, and penalizing successful companies simply for competing effectively.

There are legitimate concerns about the scope and enforcement of digital regulations on both sides of the Atlantic. But the only way to durably resolve these differences is through negotiation, not tit-for-tat retaliation. We reiterate our call for the creation of a Transatlantic Digital Dialogue as the appropriate forum to have these conversations and would welcome the opportunity to assist with this effort.