Google abused its dominant position in online advertising, which has affected publishers, advertisers and consumers. This behavior is illegal under the EU's competition rules, said the European Commission's Vice President Teresa Ribera, who is responsible for competition legislation, when she announced the fines.
The Commission requires Google to stop the methods that favor its own company. Google has 60 days to present measures that the Commission will then review. Preliminarily, the EU believes that a sale of parts of Google's services may be the solution, according to a press release.
Google announced that the company will immediately appeal the decision.
This means unjustified fines and requires changes that will harm thousands of European companies by making it more difficult for them to earn money, said Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google's international head of competition issues, in a statement.
