Google Hit With $14.85M Fine By Turkish Authority Over Local Search Compliance

The Turkish Competition Board has fined Alphabet Inc. GOOG GOOGL Google approximately $14.85 million (482 million Turkish Lira) for non-compliance with local competition regulations.

What Happened: The Turkish competition authority announced the fine on Monday, citing Google’s failure to meet its obligations regarding hotel searches, Reuters reported.

The fine was imposed due to Google’s alleged lack of action in addressing the competition board’s concerns about fair competition with other local search engines.

Google has faced a series of antitrust fines and investigations in recent years, particularly in the European Union.

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In January, the EU’s Court of Justice suggested dismissing Google’s appeal against a $2.6 billion fine for favoring its own shopping services, a move seen as exploiting its dominance in the general search services market. This was a significant setback for the tech giant.

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Furthermore, in March, the EU launched antitrust probes into Google, along with Apple Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc.

These investigations were part of the EU’s new Digital Markets Act, which aims to ensure fair competition in the tech industry. This move marked a significant escalation in the EU’s scrutiny of big tech companies.

Not The First Fine: Google has been hit with a series of fines since 2017, amounting to over $10.63 billion for various violations, including antitrust, anti-competition, patent, and privacy breaches.

These fines have raised concerns about Google’s market dominance and its impact on fair competition.

It remains to be seen how Google addresses these issues and navigates the evolving regulatory landscape.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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