Google fined €1.49bn for blocking advertising rivals

EU antitrust regulators handed down a 1.49 billion euro fine to Alphabet unit Google on Wednesday for blocking rival online search advertisers, marking the company’s third penalty in two years, Reuters reports.

Last year, the EU competition enforcer imposed a record 4.34 billion euro fine on Google for using its popular Android mobile operating system to block rivals. This followed a 2.42 billion euro fine in 2017 for hindering rivals of shopping comparison websites,.