Google fined $1.7 billion over a 3rd breach of EU antitrust rules in as many years

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• Google was fined $1.7 billion by the EU for its third breach of EU antitrust rules in as many years.
• European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said the latest fine is for “illegal practices in search advertising brokering to cement its dominant market position.”
• Business Insider has contacted Google for comment.

Google has been punished with a third fine by the European Union in as many years.

The Alphabet-owned company was fined €1.49 billion ($1.69 billion) on Wednesday by European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager over anticompetitive practices related to its AdSense advertising service.

Vestager announced the fine in a tweet. She said Google was being punished for “illegal practices in search advertising brokering to cement its dominant market position.” She added: “They shouldn’t do that – it denied consumers choice, innovative products and fair prices.”

Specifically, Vestager’s team concluded that Google included “restrictive clauses in contracts” with third-party websites preventing rival search engines from placing adverts on these websites, according to a press release announcing the decision.

The penalty follows Google’s record $5 billion fine in July last year for abusing the dominance of Android. The search giant was also fined $2.7 billion in September 2017 over its shopping service. 

Business Insider has contacted Google for comment.

More follows.

SEE ALSO: Google has already been hit with $7 billion in EU antitrust fines. Now it’s reportedly facing a third.

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