The European Union's competition watchdog has slapped a record 2.42 billion euro ($2.72 billion) fine on internet giant Google for breaching antitrust rules with its online shopping service.
Google is the latest US tech giant after Apple to bear the brunt of EU’s anti-trust regulations.
European regulators said on Tuesday that "Google has abused its market dominance as a search engine by giving an illegal advantage to another Google product, its comparison shopping service".
Google has been utilising user data from its multiple platforms, enabling businesses to offer personalised ads to consumers. Last week, Google informed that Gmail will stop snooping into your mails, to offer tailor-made ads to users.
Also Read: Gmail Will Stop Scanning your Mails To Push Personalised Ads
Responding to the allegations issued by the EU, Google has stated it will review the Commission’s decision in detail before appealing against the charges on them.
It gave the Mountain View, California, company 90 days to stop or face fines of up to 5% of the average daily worldwide turnover of parent company Alphabet. The European Commission, which polices EU competition rules, alleges Google elevates its shopping service even when other options might have better deals.
Google maintains it's trying to package its search results in a way that makes it easier for consumers to find what they want.
We think our current shopping results are useful and are a much-improved version of the text-only ads we showed a decade ago. Showing ads that include pictures, ratings, and prices benefits us, our advertisers, and most of all, our users. And we show them only when your feedback tells us they are relevant.Google Blog
Also Read: Apple Ordered to Pay €13 Billion, Tim Cook Responds to Charges
Apple had been asked to pay €13 Billion in taxes to the Irish authorities after the European Commission (EU’s anti-trust regulators) ruled that it had received illegal state aid.
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