Google’s £4bn fine for stif ling its rivals

GOOGLE has been given a record fine of almost £4billion by regulators who found it used illegal tactics to gain an advantage over competitors.

The American web giant abused its position and broke European laws by striking deals with Android to ensure its products were used on their phones, the European Commission found.

Google yesterday said it would appeal against the fine – which reportedly amounts to only two weeks of revenue for its parent company, Alphabet Inc.

If Android phone companies wanted to have the Google app store, known as the Play Store, on their devices, they had to agree to pre-install Google Chrome and the Google Search app, the European Commission found.

Android phones include household names such as Samsung, HTC, LG and Sony Experia devices.

The controversial deal meant phone companies were effectively strong-armed into using Google products in return for allowing their clients to have access to the apps they wanted.

‘More choice, not less’

This meant phone makers used Google products rather than those of other, smaller, companies, the commission said.

European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said Google was ‘denying rivals a chance to innovate and compete’ which was ‘illegal under EU anti-trust rules’.

Some large manufacturers and mobile network operators were also handed payments in return for exclusively pre-installing Google Search – the tool used for carrying out basic internet searches – on devices, the investigation found.

Miss Vestager said: ‘ These practices have denied European consumers the benefits of effective competition in the important mobile sphere. This is illegal under EU anti-trust rules.’

A spokesman for Google said yesterday: ‘Android has created more choice for everyone, not less.

‘A vibrant ecosystem, rapid innovation, and lower prices are classic hallmarks of robust competition. We will appeal the Commission’s decision.’