Paris.- France has imposed an administrative fine of 2.015 million euros on Google for lack of transparency to the consumer about the comparisons of tourist offers in the internet search engine, as well as in its online store of Google Play applications.
The General Directorate for Competition, Consumption and the Repression of Frauds (DGCCRF) explained this Tuesday in a statement that the sanction is justified because the US platform did not comply with the regulations regarding information to consumers.
The controls that the DGCCRF of 2021 revealed that its search engine did not offer the relevant information to compare the conditions of the rates of the tourist accommodation offers.
Specifically, the reimbursable or non-refundable nature of the tourist packages was not specified, as well as whether the price of the accommodation included breakfast.
In Google Play, there was a lack of information on the criteria for classifying the results, on the nature of the person making the offer (professional or private), on the methods of payment or on the disputes in case of litigation.
In addition, he also did not realize the reasons why Google denied the publication of a review left by a consumer.
The French anti-fraud service, which acknowledged that the American giant has since corrected some of the errors detected, insisted that “offering clear and accurate information makes it easier to compare offers and allows you to make purchases more clearly.”
