The EU has hit Google with its biggest fine Wednesday, imposing a 4.34 billion euro ($5 billion) penalty on the US tech giant for illegally abusing the dominance of its operating system for mobile devices.
Brussels accused Google of using the Android system's near-stranglehold on smartphones and tablets to promote the use of its own Google search engine and shut out rivals.
The decision, which follows a three-year EU investigation, comes as fears of a transatlantic trade war mount because of President Donald Trump's decision to impose tariffs on European steel and aluminium exports.
"Google has engaged in illegal practices to cement its dominant market position in internet search," EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said as she announced the huge fine.
The new sanction nearly doubles the previous record EU antitrust fine of 2.4 billion euros, which also targeted Google, in that case for the Silicon Valley titan's shopping comparison service in 2017.
Denmark's Vestager ordered Google to "put an effective end to this conduct within 90 days or face penalty payments" of up to five percent of its average daily turnover.
The Google decision comes just one week before European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker is due to travel to the United States for crucial talks with US President Donald Trump on the tariffs dispute and other issues.
Comments
Post a Comment