The Competition Board announced that it has imposed an administrative fine on Google equal to five tenths of a thousand for each day of its 2024 revenue. The fine was imposed on the grounds that the company’s new designs, known as “Business Ads,” violated a Competition Board decision regarding local search services. The total fine imposed on Google was 355,143,671.89 Turkish Lira.
The Competition Board officially penalized Google
In a statement, the Competition Board stated that it imposed this fine due to Google’s failure to fulfill its obligations. It emphasized that the obligations imposed on undertakings under competition law are critical to ensuring fair competition in the market and protecting consumer welfare. The Board noted that undertakings that violate these obligations may face administrative fines, and noted that the penalty imposed on Google was an example of this.
The statement also cited a decision handed down in 2021. This decision determined that Google had favored its local search and accommodation price comparison services over its competitors’ in general search results, resulting in a fine of approximately 296 million Turkish Lira. However, the company was required to submit a new design that did not disadvantage competing services.
While the compliance process was ongoing, the new designs Google introduced under the “Business Ads” banner were determined to have the same characteristics and functionality as the previous designs. These new designs were reviewed again by the Competition Board, and Google was warned to withdraw the designs it had implemented. However, daily administrative fines continued to be imposed on Google throughout the implementation period until the design was withdrawn.
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