Google to reportedly face record fine in first EU search practice probe

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Buckingham Palace Road,United Kingdom, Architect London, Google London

Google could be slapped with a fine of more than 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) as the EU begins the first stage of a three-pronged probe into the search group’s practices, the Financial Times reported.

In the coming weeks, EU officials are expected to say that the tech company, which is owned by Alphabet, abused its search market dominance to give its Google Shopping service an advantage over other retailers. It comes as part of Brussels’ wider antitrust investigation into Google.

If enacted, the fine is expected to break the record for a monopoly abuse case, topping the 1 billion (then $1.45 billion) fine handed out to chipmaker Intel in 2009, the FT said, citing two people familiar with the case.

The fine will be capped at a maximum of 10 percent of Alphabet’s total revenues, which stood at $90 billion last year.

It would mark the first sanction by a leading competition regulator into the company’s search practices.

The European Commission said it had no comment to make when contacted by CNBC Friday, while Google had not responded at the time of publishing.

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