EU imposes major fine on Google for anti-competitive conduct

Google illegally leveraged its search engine dominance to give preferential treatment to its shopping, travel and other services.

BRUSSELS: The European Commission has fined Google €890 million (about $1 billion), accusing the tech giant of abusing its dominant position in online search to unfairly favor its own services over those of competitors.

In a statement, the Commission said Google illegally leveraged its search engine dominance to give preferential treatment to its shopping, travel, gaming, and other services while pushing rival platforms lower in search results, in violation of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The Commission also found that Google unfairly prevented app developers from informing users about alternative payment options outside the Google Play Store, a practice it said limited competition and helped preserve Google’s commission fees.

Under the ruling, Google has 60 days to comply with the Commission’s decision or face additional financial penalties.

The decision is expected to add to trade tensions between the European Union and the United States, where the Trump administration has criticized EU digital regulations as unfair and warned of possible retaliatory measures.

Google rejected the ruling, arguing that the decision would ultimately harm European consumers.

The latest penalty adds to a series of antitrust actions against the company. In 2018, the EU imposed a €4.34 billion fine over Android-related anti-competitive practices, while in 2017 it fined Google €2.42 billion for favoring its comparison shopping service in search results. European courts have since upheld key elements of those decisions.