Yelp, Oracle and News Corp have signed a letter supporting EU action against Google

Seven U.S. companies and industry groups have signed a letter in support of the European Union fining Google more than $1 billion for allegedly favoring its own shopping service over others in search results.

The 1.1 euro ($1.2 billion) fine is expected to be issued this week and would require Google to change its business practices in Europe. The changes could have ramifications beyond Google Shopping and might even impact Google’s operations in the U.S.

The companies and industry groups that signed the letter — including Oracle, Yelp and News Corp — have a history of opposing Google’s practices. Those three companies in particular have all made antitrust or copyright complaints against Google.

Here’s the text of the letter:

Dear Commissioner Vestager,

We represent US companies that employ hundreds of thousands of workers across 50 states. We are writing to express our support for the Commission’s enforcement action against Google.

As you near final decisions in the Shopping and Android cases, Google and its allies will no doubt continue to press through its lobbying and public relations machine the fiction that any adverse decision amounts to European “protectionism.” As U.S. based companies, we wish to go on record that enforcement action against Google is necessary and appropriate, not provincial. We have watched Google undermine competition in the United States and abroad. Google operates on a global scale and across the entire online ecosystem, destroying jobs and stifling innovation.

Google and its allies may also claim that there is no factual basis for a decision against Google. That too is untrue. The case against Google, both in Europe and the United States, rests on sound legal and factual foundations. Indeed, the US Federal Trade Commission legal staff found that Google has monopoly power and that it engages in anticompetitive practices.

We believe that decisive action is necessary to restore competition and once again open the Internet to innovation and growth. We hope that your counterparts in the United States will use this as an opportunity to address similar anticompetitive conduct by Google.

Sincerely,

Disconnect, Inc.

Getty Images, Inc.

News Corporation

News Media Alliance

Oracle Corporation

Trip.com

Yelp Inc.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

We're here to shed some clarity

One of our core beliefs here at Vox is that everyone needs and deserves access to the information that helps them understand the world, regardless of whether they can pay for a subscription. With the 2024 election on the horizon, more people are turning to us for clear and balanced explanations of the issues and policies at stake. We’re so grateful that we’re on track to hit 85,000 contributions to the Vox Contributions program before the end of the year, which in turn helps us keep this work free. We need to add 2,500 contributions this month to hit that goal. Will you make a contribution today to help us hit this goal and support our policy coverage? Any amount helps.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via