<p> The EU slapped Google with a record 2.4-billion-euro anti-trust fine today, in a fresh assault on a US tech giant that risks the wrath of President Donald Trump.<br /><br />Hard-charging European Commission competition chief Margrethe Vestager said Google had "abused its market dominance" as the world's most popular search engine to give illegal advantage to its own shopping service.<br /><br />"What Google has done is illegal under EU antitrust rules. It denied other companies the chance to compete on the merits and to innovate," Vestager said in a statement.<br /><br />"And most importantly, it denied European consumers a genuine choice of services and the full benefits of innovation."<br /><br />The fine broke the previous EU record for a monopoly case against US chipmaker Intel of 1.06 billion euros.<br /><br />The decision comes less than a year after Vestager shocked the world and Washington with an order that iPhone manufacturer Apple repay 13 billion euros in back taxes in Ireland.<br /><br />Crucially for Google, Brussels has demanded that the US tech giant change the business model for Google Shopping to meet the EU's concerns.<br /><br />While an EU record, the amount is below the maximum possible of about 8.0 billion euros or 10 percent of Google's total revenue last year.<br /><br />Brussels accuses Google of giving its own online service, Google Shopping, too much priority in search results to the detriment of other price comparison services, such as TripAdvisor and Expedia.<br /><br />The case, launched in 2010, is one of three against Google and of several against blockbuster US companies including Starbucks, Apple, Amazon and McDonalds.</p>
<p> The EU slapped Google with a record 2.4-billion-euro anti-trust fine today, in a fresh assault on a US tech giant that risks the wrath of President Donald Trump.<br /><br />Hard-charging European Commission competition chief Margrethe Vestager said Google had "abused its market dominance" as the world's most popular search engine to give illegal advantage to its own shopping service.<br /><br />"What Google has done is illegal under EU antitrust rules. It denied other companies the chance to compete on the merits and to innovate," Vestager said in a statement.<br /><br />"And most importantly, it denied European consumers a genuine choice of services and the full benefits of innovation."<br /><br />The fine broke the previous EU record for a monopoly case against US chipmaker Intel of 1.06 billion euros.<br /><br />The decision comes less than a year after Vestager shocked the world and Washington with an order that iPhone manufacturer Apple repay 13 billion euros in back taxes in Ireland.<br /><br />Crucially for Google, Brussels has demanded that the US tech giant change the business model for Google Shopping to meet the EU's concerns.<br /><br />While an EU record, the amount is below the maximum possible of about 8.0 billion euros or 10 percent of Google's total revenue last year.<br /><br />Brussels accuses Google of giving its own online service, Google Shopping, too much priority in search results to the detriment of other price comparison services, such as TripAdvisor and Expedia.<br /><br />The case, launched in 2010, is one of three against Google and of several against blockbuster US companies including Starbucks, Apple, Amazon and McDonalds.</p>