Google’s history of European fines
Google’s disagreement with how to understand European legislation has over the last three years led to the company being fined approximately USD 10 billion.
The company has been fined for anti-competitive behaviour — over search, shopping, and Android – by the EU three times in three years:
- The first was for USD 2.7 billion in 2017,
- USD 5 billion in 2018, and
- USD 1,7 billion in 2019.
This does not mean Google has actually paid that amount as the company also has appealed. A not confirmed calendar says the European Court of Justice in Luxemburg is preparing for a five-day hearing in September on the aforementioned USD 5 billion fine from 2018 for alleged anticompetitive practices. The fine is the highest that the EU Commission has issued.
Most recently, French anti-trust authority in June fined Google Euro 220 million for abusing its advertising power (with the company also forced to changes on how it operates its Ad Manager service) and in July, the French Antitrust Authority imposed yet another fine of 500 million euros for not negotiating in good faith with news publishers on copyright remuneration.
Italian anti-trust authority in the spring fined the company 102 million euros for excluding an e-mobility app from Google’s Android system.
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