European Union authorities fined Google a record $5.1 billion for abusing its power in the mobile phone market, as the old world continues to aggressive attempts to rein-in the power of American technology companies.
The 4.34 billion euro fine surpassed the €2.4 billion, about $2.8 billion, the European Union levied against Google last year over the company’s unfair favoring of its own services in internet search results.
The ruling strikes is a death blow Google’s hugely profitable business model for Android. The firm give away the OS to phone makers if they agree to prioritize its search bar, Chrome browser and other apps .
In addition to being hit with the hefty fine, Google must now decouple the Android system from its other services in Europe, potentially losing users and advertising revenue.
