PodcastTurkey's competition authority fines Google 98 million liras
Turkey's Competition Board has ultimately fined tech giant Google 98.3 million Turkish liras for violating the terms of fair competition due to unfair access to advertisement space. Last March, the board opened an investigation into claims that Google uses abusive tactics to quash its rivals.
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California-based tech giant Google has ultimately been fined 98.3 million Turkish liras (about $16 million) by Turkey's competition authority for aggressive competition tactics.
In September 2018, Turkey’s competition board initially fined Google on the basis of competition law for its Google Shopping Unit's prioritization of certain vendors over others regarding advertisement space.
The U.S. search engine giant argued against the 93 million Turkish lira ($15 million) fine on Feb. 5, appearing in front of the Competition Board in Ankara.
Last March, the board opened an investigation into claims that Google uses abusive tactics to quash its rivals.
In November, the board ruled that the changes Google made to its agreements with Android partners in Turkey based on an earlier ruling fell short. For this reason, the board stated, the company cannot continue to operate with such practices in Turkey.
Google's investigative practices have been the subject of similar investigations in both the EU and Russia, the board underlined.
In 2018, the European Commission fined Google €4.34 billion ($4.84 billion) for breaching the EU’s antitrust rules on online advertising.
Google also pledged to Russia’s Competition Authority that it would halt the offending practices.