European Union’s competition watchdog has finedGoogle with 2.42 billion euro.
What was the reason?
‘Google Shopping’ is Google’s own price-comparison website.
Google is alleged of abusing its position of dominance in the market by favouring products listed on ‘Google Shopping’, over those on competing websites.
Is the judgment justified?
The fine is still considered baseless because businesses can have a valid economic reason to showcase certain products more prominently than others.
Advertisements can be considered faulty and punishable only if the standards are not met.
Google holds over 80% of the market share in Europe’s search engine market.
But it is not a legal monopoly, as anybody is free to compete against it.
So this did not call for an economic regulation by EU.
The decision also rejected the pro-consumer product design of Google Shopping.
What should be done?
It should be ensured that EU’s regulatory overreach is not a barrier for innovation and consumers.
Innovations that benefit consumers must be properly differentiated from those that hurt competitors.
