European antitrust regulators have fined Google for a record €2.4 billion yesterday for systematically favoring its own search results above those of its competitors.
The European Commission found that the tech giant used its search results to unfairly steer customers to its own shopping platform, and gave Google 90 days to change this practice or face additional penalties.
“What Google has done is illegal under EU antitrust rules,” said Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition. „It denied other companies the chance to compete on the merits and to innovate. And most importantly, it denied European consumers a genuine choice of services and the full benefits of innovation.“
It is expected Google will appeal this decision, but it is not the only hurdle the company is facing in Europe. The EU also accused the tech giant of abusing its market position by imposing restrictions on Android device manufacturers and mobile network operators, and the EC is also investigating the company’s ad placing service, AdSense.
