Google hit with record fine and ordered to change its business model in the EU
Brussels — The EU hit Google with a record €2.4bn anti-trust fine on Tuesday for favouring its own shopping service, in a fresh assault on a US tech giant that risks the wrath of President Donald Trump.Hard-charging European Commission competition chief Margrethe Vestager said Google had "abused its market dominance" as the world’s most popular search engine to give illegal advantage to its Google Shopping service."What Google has done is illegal under EU antitrust rules. It denied other companies the chance to compete on the merits and to innovate," Denmark’s Vestager told a news conference."And most importantly, it denied European consumers a genuine choice of services and the full benefits of innovation." Google now had 90 days to "end this conduct" or face further penalty payments, Vestager said.The fine broke the previous EU record for a monopoly case against US chip maker Intel of €1.06bn in 2009.Google said that it "respectfully" disagreed with the EU decision, which followed...
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