Google faces a record-breaking fine for monopoly abuse within weeks, as officials in Brussels put the finishing touches to a seven-year investigation of company’s dominant search engine. It is understood that the European Commission is aiming to hit Google with a fine in the region of €3bn, a figure that would easily surpass its toughest anti-trust punishment to date, a €1.1bn fine levied on the microchip giant Intel. Sources close to the situation said officials aimed to make an announcement before the summer break and could make their move as early as next month, although cautioned that Google’s bill for crushing competition online had not been finalised. The maximum possible is around €6.6bn, or a tenth of Google’s total annual sales. It will mark a watershed moment in Silicon Valley’s competition battle with Brussels. Google has already been formally charged with unlawfully promoting its own price comparison service in general search results while simultaneously relegating those of smaller rivals, denying them traffic. The stakes have been further raised by a new investigation into alleged monopoly abuse related to Google’s Android smartphone software.
Google is facing a record anti-trust fine of around €3bn in Europe, with the European Commission expected to announce the penalty as early as June in response to allegations by the European Union that Google has abused its internet search dominance by promoting its shopping service over those rivals in search results, say sources. The maximum possible fine is around €6.6bn, or a tenth of Google's total annual sales. This marks a watershed in Silicon Valley's competition battle with the Brussels, with the stakes now even higher due to a another investigation into the alleged abuse related to Google's Android smartphone software. Google could also be banned from continuing to manipulated search results to favour itself and harm rivals. Google has declined to comment.