German cartel office steps up examination of Google products

FILE PHOTO: A sign is pictured outside a Google office near the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, U.S., May 8, 2019. REUTERS/Paresh Dave

BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany's cartel office said it was examining Google's use of personal data and its Google News Showcase product under its new powers to regulate internet companies, and was also considering cases involving Amazon, Apple and Facebook owner Meta.

The regulator said on Wednesday it had determined that Google's owner Alphabet met the scale threshold required for a company to be subject to new extended supervisory powers to regulate large internet companies that it acquired last year.