Google to be whacked with €3bn EU fine over online search abuse

Reports suggest that Google faces multi-billion euro shake-down over search practices

Search giant Google is facing a €3bn fine from the European Union's competition authorities over allegations that it unfairly promoted its own services over those of rivals on its popular search engine.

The European Commission investigation focused on accusations that Google promoted its own shopping service in internet searches at the expense of rival services in a case that has dragged on since 2010.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper cited sources familiar with the Commission's proceedings in reporting that the €3bn penalty is coming "within weeks". The precise figure has not yet been decided, but the report claimed that it will be within the region of €3bn, less than the maximum €6.6bn that could be levied.

If correct, this would easily overtake the previous record of €1.1bn imposed on chip-maker Intel in 2009. The company was accused of engaging in anti-competitive behaviour against AMD, which included direct payments to manufacturers in a bid to delay or cancel product launches that used AMD processors.

The Telegraph said that Google will also be banned from continuing to manipulate search results to favour itself and harm rivals.

Computing contacted Google for comment on claims but had received no reply at the time of publication.

Google has long denied that the company harms online competition, arguing that people have more online choice than ever.

Amit Singhal, senior vice president of Google Search, said last year: "While Google may be the most used search engine, people can now find and access information in numerous different ways."

He continued: "If you look at shopping, an area where we have seen a lot of complaints and where the EC has focused in its Statement of Objections, it's clear that (a) there's a ton of competition (including from Amazon and eBay, two of the biggest shopping sites in the world) and (b) Google's shopping results have not harmed the competition.

"It's why we respectfully but strongly disagree with the need to issue a Statement of Objections and look forward to making our case over the weeks ahead."

The Statement of Objections issued by the European Commission in April 2016 said that Google's promotion of its own shopping links amounted to "illegal" abuse of its dominance in search.

This isn't the only legal issue Google faces in Europe. The Commission announced plans last month to accelerate its Android antitrust investigation having reportedly sent requests for information from those complaining about Google's mobile activity in Europe.

The case accuses Google of abusing its dominant position in the mobile operating system market by pre-installing its own services and apps on Android smartphones.