The sense of urgency at Google has been compounded by a significant legal defeat late last year when the General Court in Luxembourg upheld a €2.42 billion antitrust fine against the company for promoting its own shopping comparison service above its rivals in search results. In the weeks after the judgment, Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google's parent company Alphabet, discussed the case and upcoming tech regulations with Margrethe Vestager, the EU's digital and competition chief, in a virtual meeting. Separately, Kent Walker, Alphabet's head of global affairs, held similar meetings with other high-level regulators, including Vera Jourova, the EU's vice president.