Google Hit With Third Antitrust Violation in the E.U. Over Online Advertising
Search giant Google, which tried to appease E.U. antitrust watchdogs by letting users choose their preferred browser and search engine apps in Android smartphones earlier today, has been fined by the European Commission €1.49 billion for abusing its dominance in online search adverts to force customers of its AdSense business (news, blogs and travel websites) to sign restrictive contracts that prohibited them from accepting ads from rival search engines like Microsoft and Yahoo!.
"Google has ... shielded itself from competitive pressure by imposing anti-competitive contractual restrictions on third-party websites. This is illegal under EU antitrust rules. The misconduct lasted over 10 years and denied other companies the possibility to compete on the merits and to innovate - and consumers the benefits of competition," said Commissioner Margrethe Vestager in a press conference.
The Commission notes that Google ceased the "illegal practice" in response to its complaints in a preliminary investigation undertaken way back in 2016. But it's also worth pointing out that this is the third penalty faced by Google in the E.U. in as many years. The company was fined a record €4.3 billion last year for its monopolistic market practices in mobile by bundling Chrome and Search with Android, and €2.4 billion the year before for manipulating shopping search results. Google is currently appealing both cases.
Update: Google may have been hit with another fine from E.U. antitrust regulators, but it doesn't seem to have had any impact on its stock price, which rose 2 percent as of Wednesday's close, adding US$ 17 billion to the company's market value.
 |
| How Google restricts rivals' search ads (Image: European Commission) |
"Google has ... shielded itself from competitive pressure by imposing anti-competitive contractual restrictions on third-party websites. This is illegal under EU antitrust rules. The misconduct lasted over 10 years and denied other companies the possibility to compete on the merits and to innovate - and consumers the benefits of competition," said Commissioner Margrethe Vestager in a press conference.
The Commission notes that Google ceased the "illegal practice" in response to its complaints in a preliminary investigation undertaken way back in 2016. But it's also worth pointing out that this is the third penalty faced by Google in the E.U. in as many years. The company was fined a record €4.3 billion last year for its monopolistic market practices in mobile by bundling Chrome and Search with Android, and €2.4 billion the year before for manipulating shopping search results. Google is currently appealing both cases.
Update: Google may have been hit with another fine from E.U. antitrust regulators, but it doesn't seem to have had any impact on its stock price, which rose 2 percent as of Wednesday's close, adding US$ 17 billion to the company's market value.
Comments
Post a Comment