EU hits Google with record €2.4b fine

BRUSSELS: The European Union (EU) hit Google with a record €2.4 billion (RM11.5 billion) fine yesterday for illegally favouring its shopping service in search results, in a fresh assault on United States firms that risks the wrath of President Donald Trump.

European Commission competition chief Margrethe Vestager said the tech giant “abused its market dominance” as the world’s most popular search engine to give an advantage to its Google Shopping service.

“What Google has done is illegal under EU anti-trust rules,” said Vestager.

It now has 90 days to “end this conduct” or face further fines, she said. These could amount to five per cent of Google’s daily revenue, said Vestager, a penalty of roughly US$14 million (RM60 million) a day. AFP