Poland Accuses Google of Antitrust Violations in Media Content Dispute

Poland’s competition authority has launched an antitrust investigation against Google, accusing the tech giant of abusing its dominant market position. The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKIK), Tomasz Chróstny, announced charges against four Google-affiliated companies, Alphabet Inc, Google LLC, Google Ireland Limited, and Google Poland, for failing to comply with EU copyright directives when negotiating with Polish media publishers.

The investigation focuses on Google’s use of publishers’ content in services like Google Search, Google News, and Google Discover. UOKIK claims Google did not provide publishers with necessary data to assess proposed remuneration rates, nor did it explain how press publications were used or the revenues generated from them. This lack of transparency created an information asymmetry, allowing Google to impose unfair terms on Polish media publishers.

According to UOKIK, Google’s practices restricted competition by preventing publishers from negotiating on equal footing. If convicted, the authority may impose fines of up to 10% under Article 106 of Poland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Act. This is not Google’s first antitrust battle; in April 2025, a US federal judge ruled that Google violated federal antitrust law, and the company has faced similar fines in Australia and the EU for anti-competitive practices.