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[Moskalova]

Google has been fined €2.4bn ($2.7bn; £2.1bn) by the European Commission after it ruled the company had abused its power by promoting its own shopping comparison service at the top of search results.


The amount is the regulator's largest penalty to date against a company accused of distorting the market.
The ruling also orders Google to end its anti-competitive practices within 90 days or face a further penalty.

The US company may decide to appeal.

Google had previously suggested that Amazon and eBay had more influence over the public's spending habits and that the commission's views "failed to fit the reality of how most people shop online".

However, the decision could set a precedent that determines how the EU's civil service handles related complaints about the prominence Google gives to its own maps, flight price results and local business listings within its search tools.

More in the link: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-40406542?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbc_breaking&ns_source=twitter&ns_linkname=news_central

Update

More info:

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-1784_en.htm

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-17-1785_en.htm

 

[faridmon]

Do they actually pay out these fines?

Ignorant question

 

[DBT85]

I'm ok with this.

 

[barber]

Do they actually pay out these fines?

Ignorant question

Yes, and they go towards the EU-budget which is nice.

 

[Fat4all]

that's a lot of schmeckles

 

[John Dunbar]

companies should just be fined for being too big.

 

[Joni]

You know it is bad when this amount probably won't really urge them to change their practice.

 

[paradise_circus]

google runs past by microsoft even in fines

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

companies should just be fined for being too big.

If by being too big you mean abusing their effective monopoly then yeah.

 

[John Dunbar]

If by being too big you mean abusing their effective monopoly then yeah.

they should just be broken up for that.

 

[GeoNeo]

So where does this money go? European Commission have outline of what they do with these types of fines?

 

[pfkas]

good old-fashioned shakedown

 

[Fat4all]

they should just be broken up for that.

but it's so exciting when you get a monopoly in-game

 

[fanboi]

Isn't Google,Microsoft and Apple becoming what Standard Oil once was?

 

[RubberJohnny]

Here's a good thing on fake markets that tech firms are using

These new False Markets only resemble true markets just enough to pull the wool over the eyes of regulators and media, whose enthusiasm for high tech solutions is boundless, and whose understanding of markets on the Internet is still stuck in the early eBay era of 20 years ago.

 

[Dash_Riprock]

Welp, there's 2.42 billion more reasons why Brexit was a mistake...

 

[Walshicus]

Good.

The stuff Google is trying to achieve with it's various integrations is super scary for the long-term health of a number of industries.

 

[Alx]

So where does this money go? European Commission have outline of what they do with these types of fines?

It goes to the general budget, but you can't attach it to a specific project, or the company fined would (rightfully) claim that it is being fined to fund something and not for breaking the law.

 

[SliceSabre]

they should just be broken up for that.

I see this suggested in everyone one of these threads but nobody has any idea how to pull this off with Google.

 

[Tecnniqe]

That sure is money

 

[WhateverItTakes]

Yes, and they go towards the EU-budget which is nice.

Yeah for some people ;_;

Goddamn Brexit...

 

[Dascu]

More info:

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-1784_en.htm

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-17-1785_en.htm

 

[23qwerty]

2.7b seems absurdly excessive for something this insignificant

 

[Ardenyal]

2.4B sounds too little to curb the behaviour.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

2.7b seems absurdly excessive for something this insignificant

How else are you going to make a company like Google care to change their practices?

 

[Tk0n]

2.4B sounds too little to curb the behaviour.

"The ruling also orders Google to end its anti-competitive practices within 90 days or face a further penalty."

 

[Dascu]

2.7b seems absurdly excessive for something this insignificant

2.4B sounds too little to curb the behaviour.

 

[Mailbox]

2.7b seems absurdly excessive for something this insignificant

for a company as large as google, anything less would be a slap on the wrist compared to the money they gain from these practices.

"insignificant" means very little when large corps make bank off the idea they won't get hit hard. You have to curb that behavior , not make it profitable for companies.

 

[Fat4all]

lol

 

[Donos]

2.4B sounds too little to curb the behaviour.

How else are you going to make a company like Google care to change their practices?

fine them...onemilliondollars !

But seriously, this megacorps don't shed a tear for paying anything under 10 mill.

 

[23qwerty]

How else are you going to make a company like Google care to change their practices?

that's fair. i guess roughly losing 14% of their net income (in 2016?)(assuming googling their net income is accurate) probably isn't going to kill them but might make them do something about it

who dat

 

[True Savior]

Good. Next, let's break it apart.

 

[ClosingADoor]

Here's a good thing on fake markets that tech firms are using

Good read. It's really interesting to see what these major tech companies are doing, and there should be some pushback to it. Especially so because these companies don't even pay their fair share of tax in most countries.

Google especially is doing a ton of influencing they bring as if they are for a better user experience, but is also pulling more and more power to them. Just look at them using all that meta data in their search engine. They basically take content from others and then present it as an immediate answer so the user doesn't even have to go to the website anymore.

They put their own products on top (here Google Shopping, but also hotels, maps, travel info and more) which you just can't compete with anymore. And on top of that, they now control the largest browser marketshare, which they are going to use to push their wishes on advertising. Sure, it sounds nice for users, because nobody likes annoying ads. But it is an ad company setting the rules for competing ad companies, which is shady to say the least. Same way they push their own AMP pages - mentioned in the article also - which has the handy benefit of having publishers make content (and using ads) by Googles rules even more.

They deserve to be watched by authorities and called out and fined when necessary for these practices.

2.7b seems absurdly excessive for something this insignificant

Why? You got to place it in the context of Google being a major company with massive cash reserves. A small fine is not hurting them. It is also a warning; don't pull this shit in the future or for other things, because we will come after you for it.

 

[GCX]

More info:

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-1784_en.htm

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-17-1785_en.htm

The effect of Google's illegal practices

Google's illegal practices have had a significant impact on competition between Google's own comparison shopping service and rival services. They allowed Google's comparison shopping service to make significant gains in traffic at the expense of its rivals and to the detriment of European consumers.

Given Google's dominance in general internet search, its search engine is an important source of traffic. As a result of Google's illegal practices, traffic to Google's comparison shopping service increased significantly, whilst rivals have suffered very substantial losses of traffic on a lasting basis.

- Since the beginning of each abuse, Google's comparison shopping service has increased its traffic 45-fold in the United Kingdom, 35-fold in Germany, 19-fold in France, 29-fold in the Netherlands, 17-fold in Spain and 14-fold in Italy.

- Following the demotions applied by Google, traffic to rival comparison shopping services on the other hand dropped significantly. For example, the Commission found specific evidence of sudden drops of traffic to certain rival websites of 85% in the United Kingdom, up to 92% in Germany and 80% in France. These sudden drops could also not be explained by other factors. Some competitors have adapted and managed to recover some traffic but never in full.

In combination with the Commission's other findings, this shows that Google's practices have stifled competition on the merits in comparison shopping markets, depriving European consumers of genuine choice and innovation.

Some interesting statistics there.

 

[avaya]

Good start but the fine is far too low. The effective impact is 0.4% of market cap and only 7% of 2018 FCF. A small inconvenience to Alphabet.

EC competition regulation, whilst the best in the western world by some distance, does not adequately address the new reality of the FANG names. They should have gone for 10% of global sales.

 

[blanchot]

still too low for a company such as Google

 

[SirRattleBalls]

Hope they appeal and win.

 

[MikeHattsu]

In before somebody complaining about "only fining American companies".

 

[ClosingADoor]

Hope they appeal and win.

You like massive companies abusing their position I take it?

 

[numble]

Good start but the fine is far too low. The effective impact is 0.4% of market cap and only 7% of 2018 FCF. A small inconvenience to Alphabet.

EC competition regulation, whilst the best in the western world by some distance, does not adequately address the new reality of the FANG names. They should have gone for 10% of global sales.

The penalty for failing to comply is equivalent to up to 5% of revenue per day:

The company must now end the conduct within 90 days or face penalty payments of up to 5% of the average daily worldwide turnover of Alphabet, Google's parent company.

 

[Dascu]

who dat

The Boss.

 

[Mivey]

Seeing people defend Google, or technically, Alphabet just warms my heart.
Won't someone think of the multi-billion dollar global conglomerates?!

 

[Diprosalic]

Damn european communists once again trying to take away american freedom.

 

[SirRattleBalls]

You like massive companies abusing their position I take it?

Comes with the territory of being a big company i guess

 

[23qwerty]

Seeing people defend Google, or technically, Alphabet just warms my heart.
Won't someone think of the multi-billion dollar global conglomerates?!

tbf multi billions of dollars is hard to visualize for most

 

[avaya]

The penalty for failing to comply is equivalent to up to 5% of revenue per day:

This penalty will not be enforced because Google will comply. That's why they should have gone for the max fine possible under regulation. Google hasn't got a leg to stand on when it comes to this.

Nevertheless Vestager is a truly excellent commissioner, she embodies the best of what the Commission was set up to do.

 

[kmag]

och, it's nothing, just one and a half DUP's.

 

[ClosingADoor]

Comes with the territory of being a big company i guess

Abusing your market position is not just coming with the territory. If anything, if you are a big company, you have a larger responsibility to not do that, since it has such a large impact.

 

[oti]

Hope they appeal and win.

I too am on the side of mega corporations abusing their power. #brands #google #imwithgoogle #blessed #prayforgoogle

 

[daxy]

Comes with the territory of being a big company i guess

The company that makes Saran Wrap, a brand so ubiquitous that we associate the brand with the product, willingly chose to remove toxic components this product once studies came out that about its detriments to health. This was done even though this was the component that gave Saran Wrap and edge over its competitors by making the product so durable. They lost a substantial amount of market dominance, as expected, but evidently they recognized that there's a balance to be struck between earning sweet sweet cash and being harmful to its users.