European Union fines Google $5.1 billion in another antitrust case

The European Union has fined Google $5.1 billion for abusing its power in the smartphone market. Regulators say that Google violated antitrust law by making deals with mobile phone manufacturers that favored Google’s services over its competitors’.

“Google has used Android as a vehicle to cement the dominance of its search engine,” said EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager. “These practices have denied rivals the chance to innovate and compete on the merits. They have denied European consumers the benefits of effective competition in the important mobile sphere. This is illegal under EU antitrust rules.”

The fine is almost double the $2.7 billion the EU fined Google last year in a different antitrust case. Regulator say the search giant was giving preferential treatment to its own online shopping service to the detriment of its rivals’ services, restricting consumer choice.

This is the fourth European investigation into Google’s business practices since early 2015.

Links:

E.U. Fines Google $5.1 Billion in Android Antitrust Case (New York Times, July 18, 2018)

European Union fines Google $2.7 billion for antitrust violations (Speed Matters, June 29, 2017)