The European Commission (EC) has fined Google €1.49bn for breaching EU antitrust rules.
The EC said Google has abused its market dominance by imposing a number of restrictive clauses in contracts with third-party websites which stopped Google’s rivals from placing their search adverts on these websites.
The EC said the fine of €1,494,459,000 – 1.29% of Google’s turnover in 2018 – takes account of the duration and gravity of the infringement. The fine has been calculated on the basis of the value of Google’s revenue from online search advertising intermediation in Europe.
