Google reportedly faces record US$1.1bn European Commission fine

The search giant Google is reportedly facing a US$1.1bn fine from the European commission for allegedly abusing its dominant market position.

According to the Financial Times, the Commission is set to dole out the record penalty after finding Google had systematically manipulated its search results to favor its comparison shopping service.

It is part of wider anti-trust probe into Google, which is owned by Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL).

In depth analysis from the New York Times

The scale of fine, if true, would exceed the US$1bn meted out by the EC in 2009 to the chip-maker Intel for monopoly abuse.

The financial punishment is worked out on a capped maximum of 10% of Alphabet’s total revenues.

It would mark the first sanction by a leading competition regulator into the company’s search practices, said CNBC.

According to the British newspaper The Guardian the company will have a set time to propose how it intends to operate in future.

If it fails to agree a deal with the Commission in that period, the company could be fined up to 5% of average daily turnover for each day of delay.

The sanctions follow the Commission’s decision to force Apple to pay Ireland US$14.5bn in unpaid taxes after it ruled  after it ruled tax regime in the Republic had been a form “illegal state aid”.

Story by ProactiveInvestors