The world’s biggest search engine has just found a dubious distinction—a record fine for skewing results.
Google was fined $2.7 billion by the EU on Tuesday for altering search results to favor its shopping comparisons over competitors.
Antitrust regulators from the European Union told the company it had 90 days to “stop its illegal conduct” after doling out the record-setting fine. It’s the latest move from Brussels to reign in a tech giant’s uncontested dominance, following a crucial legal decision for Uber last month.
If the ruling is not overturned, Google will be forced to reshape how it displays its price-comparison tools to users in Europe. EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said the company had “abused its market dominance.”
Google has 60 days to inform legislators how it plans to make changes. If not, it faces fines up to five percent of its daily revenue, according to Bloomberg.
The decision has implications for the larger tech industry, not just Google. The Wall Street Journal reports the ruling will likely make more companies, like Facebook and Amazon, more cautious when offering new products or service to customers in EU.
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