The European Union fines Google 890 million euros, testing Trump's deterrent stance to protect large technology companies
For violating EU digital regulatory regulations, it was fined a total of 890 million euros; it was also warned that if the search engine company refused to comply with relevant regulations, the EU would also impose continuous daily fines on it. The European Commission reported on Thursday that Google provides preferential treatment to its own services such as shopping, hotels, transportation and sports event information in search engine results, favoring its own business and squeezing out third-party service providers. The committee also pointed out that Google restricts app developers from freely conducting promotions, pushing offers to users, and preventing developers from completing transactions with users through the distribution channels of their choice, including third-party app stores. Google was fined 460 million euros for violations in its search business and 430 million euros for violations related to application guidance. The company has 60 days to propose a rectification plan, otherwise it will face ongoing fines. This is the second time that the EU antitrust regulator has punished Google. From 2017 to 2019, Google has been fined more than 8 billion euros by the EU. EU competition chief Teresa Rivera said: "This is a significant enforcement action and sends a very clear signal to Google." This penalty may once again intensify the conflict between Europe and the United States over the supervision of large technology companies. The previous tensions between the two sides over the EU's digital regulatory regulations have eased. U.S. President Donald Trump has previously called the EU's digital fines against technology companies "overseas extortion," arguing that they are essentially a form of taxation. When U.S. technology companies were punished or news of imminent fines came out, Trump responded fiercely and threatened to take retaliatory measures, mainly including trade restrictions. Rivera said Brussels would not make regulatory decisions at the behest of outside forces. "It is our duty to uphold the rule of law, including enforcing the laws of the country. No matter how the outside world interprets it or whether it raises questions, it cannot change this." Rivera added, "Currently, challenges to the rule of law are occurring in many places around the world." When asked whether the United States belonged to such a region, she said: "Some parts of the U.S. government have recently made statements that are not friendly to European laws." Kent Walker, chief legal officer of Google, said that the implementation of the EU's "Digital Market Law" continues to cause damage to the functions of commonly used products. He said: "This is not fair competition. A small number of complainants seeking self-interest push for regulation to force companies to weaken product functions. In the end, European companies and consumers suffer losses. Regulatory policies should optimize products, not make product experience worse." The media revealed last week that EU law enforcement agencies are preparing to fine Google hundreds of millions of euros through two independent rulings. The European Commission ordered Google to adjust relevant operating policies within 60 days, otherwise it will face ongoing fines, with a maximum amount of up to 5% of Google's average daily turnover. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, had revenue of $402.83 billion last year. EU technical affairs chief Hannah Verkunen said: "We look forward to Google coming up with feasible rectification plans."