‘EU wants deterrent fine in Google abuse of power case’

The European Union plans to fine Google enough to act as a deterrent to competitors. Google is suspected in the EU of abuse of power and of violating European competition rules.

The documents were already sent to Google in April, but have come into the hands of Bloomberg. The documents threaten a large fine for the internet giant. This should ensure that competitors are deterred. Google is accused of abuse of power, including by giving its services a more prominent place in the search results. The EU demands that Google adjust the ranking and subject its own services to the findability algorithms that it also uses for third parties. Meanwhile, Google is also investigating other practices, such as copying content from websites of others and hindering advertisers.

Google must respond to the letter it received from the EU. In doing so, it can defend its practices in order to avoid being fined. However, as far as is known, the company has not yet responded. It is not clear how high the possible fine will be, but given the size and turnover of Google, it is plausible that this is a potential fine of billions. The letter shows that the fine can be based on the revenue that Google generates from its AdWords advertising program.

In April, the EU formally launched an investigation into alleged abuse of power by Google. In the United States, the company was acquitted, because sufficient evidence could not be found.