Google has been fined a huge fine of 2.4 billion euros i.e. approximately Rs 26,000 crore. Major action has been taken against Google in the case that has been going on for 15 years in the UK court. In its decision, the European Court of Justice has found Google guilty of misuse of market power. According to the report, Google has used market power to favor its shopping service. Shivaun and Adam Raff, a UK business couple, had filed a case regarding this 15 years ago.
Violation of anti-trust rules
The European Court has fined Google, upholding the European Commission's anti-trust violation decision given in 2017. The tech company has appealed to the court several times regarding this matter, after which the court has given its verdict and has justified the decision of the European Commission. The court found that the tech company had misused its search engine's algorithm to benefit its shopping service, which is a violation of anti-trust rules.
The fight lasted for 15 years
The UK business couple had been fighting this battle against Google for the last 15 years. The business couple launched Foundem in 2006, which helped users find deals on electronics, flights and other items. Due to Google's algorithm, the website was not appearing in Google search results, due to which Foundem's revenue was negatively impacted and the company also suffered loss of revenue in affiliate clicks and product listings.
Initially, Adam Roff was told that there was a problem with his Website, due to which it was declared spam in Google Search's automatic filter. The couple appealed to Google several times regarding this issue, but no solution was found. However, during this period the performance of the couple's site was not affected on other search engines. Foundem was voted the UK's best price comparison website in December 2008. However, due to Google's algorithm, the website started suffering day by day, after which the business couple approached the court.
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