European Union Fines Google for Violating Antitrust Regulations

On Wednesday, Google was penalized with rupees 34,590 crores by the European Union, for violating the bloc’s antitrust regulations. Not just EU penalized Google, but also ordered changes to the technology giant’s business that could loosen the company’s hold on the mobile phones, which are its biggest growth engine.

The antitrust regulator of EU penalized Google, the technology giant for making use of its Android operating system, which runs more than eighty percent of the world’s smartphones, to promote its own apps and services, particularly the company’s search engine. Margrethe Vestager, the European Competition Commissioner, said that Google used Android as a vehicle to cement the dominance of its search engine. They have also denied the European consumers the benefits of effective competition in the significant mobile sphere.

The antitrust body dismissed the company’s argument that it was competing against Apple, saying switching to iPhones was expensive and was not a sufficient constraint. Google was penalized for breaking the law by requiring manufacturers to set up its Search and Chrome apps as a condition for licensing Google’s app store. The technology giant said it would appeal the fine. It was asked to stop the practiceswithin 90 days or face additional penalties by the Regulators.