French watchdog slaps Google with $271M fine
French competition watchdog imposes a $271 million fine on Google for alleged abuse of advertising dominance
French authorities fined Google 250 million euros ($271.42 million) on Wednesday for alleged abuse of advertising dominance.
The watchdog said Google has pledged not to contest the facts as part of settlement proceedings, adding that the company also proposed a series of remedy measures for certain shortcomings.
The fine is linked to a copyright dispute in France over online content in a case triggered by complaints from some of France's most prominent news organizations, including Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The dispute seemed resolved in 2022 when the U.S. tech giant dropped its appeal against an initial 500 million euro fine issued after a major investigation carried out by the Autorite de la Concurrence.
In Wednesday's statement, the watchdog said Google violated the terms of four out of seven commitments agreed in the settlement agreement, including conducting negotiations with publishers in good faith and providing transparent information.
Google could not immediately be reached for comment.
Source: Reuters
