The European Commission is to fine Google for not allowing third parties to use its AdSense offering to show search advertisements from its rivals. The third antitrust fine the technology company has been punished with , the EU said Google had retained anti-competitive methods for 10 years during a time when it had 80% of the European search advertising intermediation market. Google has since given third parties more license to display competing ads by altering its AdSense contracts. In an interview on CNBC last week, Schmidt was asked about Google’s recent decision to stop serving up links in search results that point users toward sites they have already visited.
The European Commission is to fine Google for not allowing third parties to use its AdSense offering to show search advertisements from its rivals. The third antitrust fine the technology company has been punished with, the EU said Google had retained anti-competitive methods for 10 years during a time when it had 80% of the European search advertising intermediation market. Google has since given third parties more license to display competing ads by altering its AdSense contracts. The undisclosed fine is set to be smaller than what it was previously punished with, according to a source speaking to Reuters.