Google hit with record £2.1bn EU fine for abusing internet search monopoly

The European Union has fined Google €2.42bn (£2.14bn) after a seven-year investigation into claims the technology giant abused its internet search monopoly.

The penalty is the biggest ever competition fine from the European Commission, doubling the previous record handed to Intel in 2009.

The EU said Google had broken EU competition law by exploiting the power of its search engine to promote its online shopping service, at the expense of other price comparison sites.

 

It said that when internet users searched Google for products such as clothes or electronics, the results would prominently and boldly feature Google's own price comparison service and relegate rivals.

 

Margrethe Vestager, the European competition commissioner, said Google "abused its market dominance as a search engine by promoting its own comparison shopping service in its search results, and demoting those of competitors."

She said the company had 90 days to stop breaking EU rules or face more fines that could cost billions.

The investigation into Google dates back to 2010. The company was hit with formal charges in 2015 and 2016, and has repeatedly denied it has stunted competition.

The case is seen as a landmark moment as politicians grapple with the growing power of US technology giants, and a test case for how governments will rein them in. It has sparked transatlantic



tensions, with Washington accusing Brussels of anti-American bias.

Ms Vestager said: "What Google has done is illegal under EU antitrust rules. 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."

More than 90pc of internet searches run through Google in most European countries. The commission found that since 2008 the company had "systematically" ranked its own internet shopping service higher than rivals.

"Google has abused this market dominance by giving its own comparison shopping service an illegal advantage," it said.

Google said the company would consider an appeal. "When you shop online, you want to find the products you’re looking for quickly and easily. And advertisers want to promote those same products," a spokesman said.

"That's why Google shows shopping ads, connecting our users with thousands of advertisers, large and small, in ways that are useful for both.  We respectfully disagree with the conclusions announced today. We will review the Commission’s decision in detail as we consider an appeal, and we look forward to continuing to make our case."

Separately, the EU is still investigating Google abusing the dominance of its Android operating system and its AdSense advertising network.