EU to fine Google next week for restricting competition through AdSense

The European Commission is reportedly going to fine Google again next week, because it would hinder competing search companies in their ability to sell ads. This is all about Google AdSense. Google has previously received two billion fines.

The Financial Times reports that three sources familiar with the matter have said that Margrethe Vestager, the European Commissioner for Competition, will announce the fine next week. In November last year, the Commission indicated that the Google AdSense case would soon be closed. It is not yet clear how high the fine will be. In theory, the Commission can impose a fine of up to EUR 13 billion; that is ten percent of Alphabet’s most recent annual turnover.

Should Vestager indeed impose a fine on Google next week, it is not expected to come close to the allowed maximum. Google has already been fined twice by the Commission in the past. This involved a fine of 4.3 billion euros for Android abuse of power and a fine of 2.4 billion euros for favoring price comparator Google Shopping.

In 2016, the Commission opened a case about Google AdSense, the advertising arm of Google. According to the Commission, Google has imposed restrictive conditions in agreements with a number of large parties that display AdSense advertisements. The parties would not be allowed to use search ads from Google’s competitors and were required to prominently display a minimum number of search ads on their websites.