EU hits Google with $1.7 billion antitrust fine

he European Union (EU) hit Google with a third major antitrust penalty in as many years, this time fining the internet search giant $1.7 billion over practices regulators say shut out competing online ad services.

The European Commission, the EU’s enforcement arm, said Google had been using exclusivity agreements with third-party websites to ensure that its ads reserve the most profitable placements within their sites.

“Google has cemented its dominance in online search adverts and shielded itself from competitive pressure by imposing anti-competitive contractual restrictions on third-party websites,” Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition commissioner, said in a statement.

“This is illegal under EU antitrust rules. The misconduct lasted over 10 years and denied other companies the possibility to compete on the merits and to innovate — and consumers the benefits of competition.”

According to the EU, Google stopped the practices in 2016 after a directive from regulators. The decision on Wednesday orders the company not to engage in it again in the future. It also allows competitors and other affected parties to file lawsuits against Google.

Google’s response: Google, which has fought the last two penalties with appeals, didn’t say whether it would challenge Wednesday’s fine but vowed to make further changes to address regulators’ concerns.

“We’ve always agreed that healthy, thriving markets are in everyone’s interest,” Kent Walker, the company’s chief legal officer, said in a statement. “We’ve already made a wide range of changes to our products to address the Commission’s concerns. Over the next few months, we’ll be making further updates to give more visibility to rivals in Europe.”

The big picture: The fine is the latest sign of how European regulators have surpassed U.S. authorities as Silicon Valley’s top watchdog.