Turkey hits Google with $75 million antitrust fine

Turkey's antitrust authority has imposed a fine of 2.61 billion liras, equivalent to $75 million, on Google for engaging in anti-competitive practices. The regulatory body accused Google of unfairly favoring its own supply-side platform, a technology used for automating the sale of advertising space, to the detriment of its competitors.

The antitrust board's decision identified Google's abuse of its dominant market position as a breach of competition law and specifically mentioned Google International LLC, Google LLC, Google Ireland Ltd., and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL ) Inc. as part of the ruling.

To rectify the situation, Google has been given a six-month period to align with the law and ensure that third-party supply-side platforms (SSPs) receive the same favorable conditions that Google affords to its own services. If Google fails to meet these requirements, they will face additional daily fines as stipulated by the board. The company retains the right to appeal the decision.

This development follows a series of international challenges against Google's business practices. Earlier in the year, a US judge ruled Google's search engine as an illegal monopoly, and European regulators sought details from Google regarding its advertising partnership with Meta (NASDAQ:META ).

Previously, in June, Google was penalized by the Turkish antitrust board with a fine of 482 million liras for issues related to its hotel search service.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Source: Investing.com