In a statement, EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said, under EU antitrust rules, what Google does is illegal.
"It makes other companies lose the opportunity to compete in terms of innovation," said Vestager, as quoted by CNET. "Most importantly, Google denies other companies' chances to compete.
Mentioned, this Google penalty is the largest European Union ever applied to a company. Earlier, the EU imposed a US $ 1 billion fine to Intel in 2009.
Just to note, the decision to apply a fine of US $ 2.72 billion of fine is not immediately given to Google. This decision is the result of a seven-year European Union investigation linked to Google's priority over users in Europe.
As a result, the Internet giant is declared to abuse its dominance in searches to promote its own shopping service. Not only that, European regulators also found that Google is actively lowering its competitors in search results through the use of algorithms. That way, the search results of competitor companies are invisible to consumers.
It is also mentioned that if Google does not stop this fraudulent practice within the next 90 days, its parent, Alphabet, will be fined 5 percent of its global daily average earnings.
Responding to fines sanctions, Google also insisted on maintaining its approach related search results. They disagree with the EU decision and consider appeals.
"When you shop online, you want to find the product you want quickly and easily.Advertisers also want to promote their products.That's why (Google's search results) show shopping ads, connect users with thousands of advertisers.And it is beneficial for both," said Google Kent Walker General Counsel.
This is not the first time the EU has dealt with technology companies based in Silicon Valley. Previously, the EU also forced Facebook, Twitter, and others to combat hate speech and terrorism activities in social media. Meanwhile, Ireland is also in conflict with Apple in connection with taxes that must be paid.
