Tuesday, June 27, 2017

The Vicious EU Has Fined Google $2.7 Billion

EU Enforcer Margrethe Vestager

The European Union has fined Google a record €2.42 billion ($2.71 billion) for favoring its own comparison-shopping service in search results and ordered the firm to apply the same methods to rivals as its own when displaying their services.

“Google abused its market dominance as a search engine by promoting its own comparison shopping service in its search results, and demoting those of competitors,” said the aggressive political climber, EU enforcer and antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager. “What Google has done is illegal under EU antitrust rules.”

She is a member of the European wing of the Trilateral Commission.

She also refuses to use her husband's last name. In an EU filing she writes:
Full name: Margrethe Vestager
(Margrethe Vestager Hansen, but “Hansen” not in use)
The EU also ordered Google to treat rival comparison-shopping services equally in its search results. Google has 90 days to end the conduct and explain how it will implement the decision, or face additional penalties of up to 5% of average daily global revenue, the EU said.

Obviously, the crony EU doesn't get, or ignores, the pretty obvious fact that if internet users don't like the way Google serves up results they can use other search services.

Bottom line: You can be fined by the EU for acting like a monopoly (when you are not) by a real monopoly (the EU).

Today’s decision is the first of three separate advanced Google-hate investigations by the Vestager antitrust division.It is continuing to probe Google over its Android mobile operating system and its Adsense advertising service.

Google general counsel Kent Walker said the company will review the decision and consider an appeal, adding that “we respectfully disagree with the conclusions announced today.”

The EU  has also initiated investigations into the tax affairs of Fiat, Starbucks, Amazon.com and Apple Inc.

 RW

Sources:

The Wall Street Journal
The Financial Times
Wikipedia
The EU
The WayBack Machine

2 comments:

  1. I wonder if Google might change their definition of Fascism now.
    Ignoring Webster's.
    From Google search of "Fascism"

    Search Results

    fas·cism

    /ˈfaSHˌizəm/

    noun

    noun: fascism; noun: Fascism; plural noun: Fascisms

    an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization.

    synonyms: authoritarianism, totalitarianism, dictatorship, despotism, autocracy; More
    Nazism, rightism;

    nationalism, xenophobia, racism, anti-Semitism;

    jingoism, isolationism;

    neofascism, neo-Nazism


    "a film depicting the rise of fascism in the 1930s"

    •(in general use) extreme right-wing, authoritarian, or intolerant views or practice.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fascism is an authoritarian that comes from the time of Mussolini and his Agrarian Reforms, it represents both Left and Right dictatorships. Socialists like Hitler, Castro, Mao, Stalin were Fascists as well as Kings, Czars,Emperors and from the right Franco, Pinochet. (In general use) extreme left-wing and Right, intolerant views.

    ReplyDelete