Google faces a record antitrust fine of around $3.4 billion in Europe. The European Union (EU) claims that Google's Internet search engine has abused its search dominance.
Engadget reports that it is likely that Google will have to pay fines to the EU for allegedly abusing its dominance of Internet search. According to The Telegraph sources, the European Commission will fine Google with an all-time high for an EU antitrust payout of around $3.4 billion (€3 billion).
This amount would reportedly be far larger than the one paid by previous record-setter Intel, which was fined with the equivalent of $1.4 billion. This huge fine would reflect the length of Google's perceived abuse.
For 6 years already, the European Union and Google have battled over Internet search. The main accusation against the search giant claims that by unfairly prioritizing its shopping services, Google has abused its monopoly.
The EU might even aim to make an example out of Google's antitrust case. The company was supposedly implementing changes making it harder for its search engine competitors to get noticed.
Google will be banned for these attempts to manipulate search results. According to Computerworld, the fine also is likely to take account of a new investigation into Android, as well as the fact that Google abused its monopoly over many years.
It is expected that the Commission will announce Google's antitrust fine before a summer break at the latest and as early as June. According to various sources, the terms are not finalized yet. It is still possible that other terms or the amount of the fine will change in the weeks ahead.
Google and the Commission did not make any comments so far. But according to Reuters, it seems that Google has given up its attempts to settle the EU case. The company still objects to accusations, but it would rather stop fighting a losing battle.
