In brief
UOKiK launched formal proceedings on 5 October 2026 targeting Alphabet Inc., Google LLC, Google Ireland Limited, and Google Poland for suspected abuse of market dominance.
Regulators state Google failed to provide valuation parameters and revenue data to Polish media publishers, creating an information asymmetry during licensing discussions.
Violations of Article 9 of Poland's competition act and Article 102 of the TFEU carry potential fines of up to 10% of total enterprise turnover.
The enforcement follows Poland's 2024 transposition of EU Directive 2019/790, which requires digital search platforms to compensate publishers and empowers UKE to mediate rates.
- 2019European Union adopts DSM Directive 2019/790 establishing digital copyright protections for press publishers
- 2024Poland transposes the DSM Directive into national law requiring online platforms to negotiate publisher fees
- 5 OctUOKiK initiates antitrust proceedings against four Google corporate entities over licensing negotiations
Antitrust charges and corporate scope
On 5 October 2026, the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) launched formal antitrust proceedings against four Google corporate entities. The proceedings target Alphabet Inc. and Google LLC, both based in Wilmington in the United States, alongside Google Ireland Limited in Dublin and Google Poland in Warsaw. The regulator investigates whether Google abused its dominant position in the search engine market when negotiating remuneration for journalistic publications. The disputed content includes articles, snippets, and media materials displayed across Google Search, Google News, and the Google Discover mobile feed. Under Polish and European competition law, companies found guilty of abusing market dominance face fines reaching up to 10% of their annual turnover.
Information asymmetry during licensing talks
The dispute centres on allegations that Google failed to reach agreements with most Polish press publishers while withholding essential commercial data. UOKiK determined that Google presented fee proposals to publisher associations without providing the parameters, revenue figures, or documents used in its calculations. By keeping detailed metrics regarding how user content drives search interactions and advertising revenue private, the technology firm created an information asymmetry. Publishers, who rely heavily on digital search platforms for reader distribution, were consequently unable to verify the fairness of Google's offers or formulate data-driven counterproposals. UOKiK President Tomasz Chróstny stated that withholding statutory information undermined equal bargaining between the parties.
“Big tech companies cannot place themselves above the law. The rules clearly specify what information Google should provide to publishers in order to settle accounts fairly for the content it uses. The lack of this data led to a situation where negotiations became illusory and aimed at imposing terms by the market dominant. For such actions, competition law provides for a fine of up to 10 percent of an enterprise's turnover.”
Legal framework and regulatory remedies
The regulatory action stems from Poland's 2024 copyright law revision, which enacted the European Union DSM Directive (Directive 2019/790) into national legislation. The statute gives press publishers the legal right to receive fair compensation when online aggregators and search engines display excerpts or AI-generated summaries of their reporting. UOKiK formulated two specific accusations against Google, focusing on the potential imposition of unfair licensing terms and the deliberate obstruction of compensation negotiations. The watchdog emphasized that holding market dominance is not illegal in itself, but using that power to dictate non-negotiable terms breaches Article 9 of Poland's competition act and Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. If voluntary talks fail, the President of the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE) holds the authority to set binding remuneration rates through statutory mediation.
Market valuation and parallel inquiries
The financial stakes in the Polish digital media market remain substantial. According to calculations conducted by consultancy firm Fehr Advice & Partners for the Association of Digital Press Publishers, Polish journalistic content generates an estimated 862 million PLN in Google search revenues, out of a total Polish search engine market worth 2.4 billion PLN (577 million EUR). UOKiK noted that its inquiry focuses strictly on conduct during publisher negotiations prior to formal UKE mediation, rather than determining specific fee amounts. The proceedings run in parallel with a European Commission investigation into Google's use of publisher material to train artificial intelligence models, as well as a separate Polish antitrust case against Apple.
- Journalistic content-linked search revenue
- 862 PLN M
- Total Polish search engine market revenue
- 2400 PLN M
Data from the article text