The European Union has once again fined Google, this time for violating the terms of fair competition.
How much and for what they were fined
European Commission (EU competition authority)completed a case on violation of antitrust laws and fined Google €1.49 billion ($1.69 billion). This is 1.29% of Google's revenue over the past year.
And all because of unfair competition and serviceAdSense, which is limited to competitors. “Google has cemented its dominant position in the online advertising market and protected itself from competition by entering into anti-competitive contracts with third-party sites,” the European Commission said.
It was also noted here that this continued for 10 years. All this time, the company did not allow the online advertising market to develop in the EU and around the world.
By the way, this is already the third fine from the European Commission.Over several years, Google was fined $2.7 billion for abuse of the search engine market and $5 billion for restrictions on the pre-installation of applications on Android smartphones.
What have changed
Google Senior Vice President of LegalQuestions Kent Walker made a statement and said that in the near future the company will give users of Android devices in Europe a choice. They will be able to choose alternative applications and services of competitors, including a search engine and browser.
“On smartphones with Android OS, you canYou will be able to change the search engine or browser, regardless of what was pre-installed by the manufacturer before releasing the model to the market,” Walker emphasized. That is, all users will have a choice, and not just owners of new devices.
It is unknown when exactly these rules will come into effect, but it will definitely be within the coming months.