EU: Google facing third antitrust fine?

According to Bloomberg, Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager is set to announce a penalty targeting Google’s AdSense advertising service in the coming weeks.

The EU stated in 2016 that Google hindered competition for online ads with its AdSense for Search product which places advertising on websites, including retailers, telecommunications operators and newspapers. While its European market share is more than 80%, AdSense contributed less than 20% of Google’s total ad revenue in 2015, a percentage which has declined steadily since 2010.

The company has already racked up 6.7 billion (US$7.6 billion) in fines and faces a potential threat of more if it doesn’t obey EU orders to change its behavior.

The Commission in July fined Google a record €4.3 billion (then US$5 billion) in the Android case, demanding that the company change the way it puts search and web-browser apps onto Android mobile devices. A year earlier, Google received a then-record €2.4 billion (then US$2.7 billion) penalty after regulators accused it of skewing results to thwart smaller shopping search services.

EU Commissioner Vestager has rejected claims she’s singling out US tech giants for special treatment.

Full Content: Bloomberg

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