The European Union (EU) fined Google for 1.5 billion euros for violations of antitrust regulations in the online advertising market on Wednesday.
European officials claim that Google forces unfair requirements on websites that use its search bar which stifles competition.
"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," stated the European Commission's Margrethe Vestager, an antitrust watchdog.
The fine is the third one that the EU has imposed on Google since 2017. The first one, to the tune of €2.4 billion, was due to the claim that Google favored their shopping services in search results over competitive shopping sites.
The second fine for €4.34 billion, a record for a tech company, was based on the claim that Google used its own Android's mobile operating system to unfairly compete with rival mobile phone companies.
Both previous fines have been appealed by Google.
Google said on Tuesday in a blog post that it is "testing a new format that gives direct links to comparison shopping sites, alongside specific product offers from merchants" and has changed Android's licensing model to open its operating system to competitive apps.
“We’ve already made a wide range of changes to our products to address the Commission’s concerns," Kent Walker, senior vice president of global affairs for Google said. "Over the next few months, we’ll be making further updates to give more visibility to rivals in Europe.”