Google Slapped With $2.7 Billion EU Fine Over Search Results

[Dashinka 25,881]

By

Natalia Drozdiak and Sam Schechner

 

The Wall Street Journal

 

BRUSSELS—The European Union’s antitrust regulator on Tuesday fined Alphabet Inc.’s GOOGL -2.47% Google a record €2.42 billion ($2.71 billion), saying its search engine stacks the deck in favor of its own comparison-shopping service.

The move, which follows more than seven years of investigations, threatens far-reaching ramifications not just for Google, but for the design of products and services from other increasingly dominant tech giants.

If the ruling sets a precedent that sticks, Google and other large tech firms may be forced to rethink how they plan to profit from some of their most popular offerings.

 

Antitrust experts and tech executives say that question arises in areas where tech giants have introduced major innovations—like Google’s search engine—that become gateways to the internet. EU regulators worry that tech firms, by inserting themselves into such a key role of funneling and directing consumer traffic, could take unfair advantage.

 

In her announcement of the Google decision, EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager stressed that dominant companies have special “responsibilities” not to hinder competition. “They are not allowed to abuse their power in one market to give themselves an advantage in another,” she said.

 

Google General Counsel Kent Walker said “we respectfully disagree with the conclusions announced today.” The company said it will review the decision and consider an appeal.

How Google ends up changing its business model to comply with the EU ruling “could eventually apply to any way that Amazon, Facebook or anyone else offers to search for products or services” depending on “what sort of bottleneck they impose on the process,” said Michael A. Carrier, a law professor at Rutgers University.

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-slapped-with-2-7-billion-eu-fine-over-search-results-1498556971

Edited June 28, 2017 by Bill & Katya