The European Union has hit Google with a fine of €2.42 billion (US$2.7 billion) for allegedly abusing its search engine dominance to give illegal advantage to its own comparison shopping service.
The fine was announced in Brussels this evening Australian time.
The company was told that it must end this behaviour within 90 days or face penalty payments of up to 5% of the daily worldwide turnover of Alphabet, its parent company.
Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who is in charge of EU competition policy, said: "Google has come up with many innovative products and services that have made a difference to our lives. That's a good thing.
{loadposition sam08}"But Google's strategy for its comparison shopping service wasn't just about attracting customers by making its product better than those of its rivals."
She added: "Instead, Google abused its market dominance as a search engine by promoting its own comparison shopping service in its search results, and demoting those of competitors.
"What Google has done is illegal under EU anti-trust rules. It denied other companies the chance to compete on the merits and to innovate. And most importantly, it denied European consumers a genuine choice of services and the full benefits of innovation."
The EU has two other investigations going on, into Google's Android mobile operating system and its Adsense advertising service.