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EU Slams Google With Massive Fine Over Ad Practices
2 Nov
Summary
- Google fined nearly 1.5 billion euros by EU regulators.
- The penalty is for restricting rival online advertisers on its search function.
- This is Google's third major EU fine in two years.
EU regulators have imposed a penalty of one point four nine billion euros on Google for restricting rival online advertisers. The European Commission found that Google placed onerous restrictions on websites using its search function, effectively limiting ad sales to Google's own platform.
This ruling represents Google's third major fine from the EU in the last two years. The previous penalties included a record four billion euros last year for its Android mobile operating system and over two billion euros a year earlier for hindering competitors to its online shopping tool.
The EU's competition commissioner noted that rivals were unable to grow and compete due to these restrictions, leaving websites with limited options for selling advertising space. While Google stated it had made changes following earlier penalties, the company did not comment on this latest measure.
