Google is expected to be fined by European Union (EU) antitrust regulators next year for failing to comply with EU rules on favoring its own products and services in search results, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The amount of the expected fine was not specified, nor was it expected to impose this fine on Google next year.
Neither Google nor the European Commission (EC), which is the enforcer of economic competition for the EU, has yet publicly commented on the development.
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Trump’s warning to Europe
The fine for Google, if imposed next year, would come hot on the heels of a $140 million EU fine imposed on Elon Musk X that outraged the United States, including President Donald Trump, who warned Europe to be “very careful.”
“Oh, that’s ugly. Elon (Musk) didn’t call me to ask for help on this. But no, it’s a tough thing. I don’t think it’s right,” Trump said at the time at a White House event.
“I’ll talk about it later. I’ll get a full report on it. Look, Europe has to be very careful. They’re doing a lot of things. We want to keep Europe, Europe,” the US president warned.
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The president’s supporters also criticized the EU, with VP JD Vance saying: “There are rumors that the EU commission will fine X hundreds of millions of dollars for not engaging in censorship. The EU should be supporting free speech, not attacking US companies for garbage.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio had stronger words, calling the X fine “an attack by foreign governments on all American technology platforms and the American people.”
As for Musk himself, the Tesla and SpaceX boss fumed, calling the action “bulls**t” and calling for the EU to be scrapped.
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What is it about Google?
Reuters reported that the case pits the Mountain View-based search giant against niche search engines with ties to industries as diverse as hotels, airlines, transportation services and restaurants.
They also compete for top spot in Google search results, resulting in conflicting claims for the search giant.
The EC’s accusation against Google came in March of this year, and since then the company has offered several adjustments to its search results, most recently in October.
But the edits still did not meet requirements under the EU’s digital markets law, Reuters reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
While Google can still make changes to avoid a fine, the search giant has previously said any further changes to its Search service will favor the interests of a small group of intermediaries over European businesses that want to sell directly to their customers.
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How much fine can Google pay?
Violation of the clauses of the EU Digital Markets Act can lead to high fines of up to 10% of the company’s global annual turnover.
Separately from that case, Google is also facing an investigation into its Google Play app store, which also faces a fine, according to Reuters.
