EU Hits Google With Record $5 Billion Antitrust Fine
BRUSSELS, July 18 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators hit Google with a record 4.34 billion euro ($5 billion) fine on Wednesday for using its Android mobile operating system to squeeze out rivals. The penalty is nearly double the previous record of 2.4 billion euros which the U.S. tech company was ordered to pay last year over its online shopping search service. It represents just over two weeks of revenue for Google parent Alphabet Inc. and would scarcely dent its cash reserves of $102.9 billion. But it could add to a brewing trade war between Brussels and Washington. EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said she very much liked the United States, countering a reported remark by President Donald Trump that she “hated” the country. “But the fact is that this has nothing to do with how I feel. Nothing whatsoever. Just as enforcing competition law, we do it in the world, but we do not do it in political context,” she said. Google said it would appeal the fine. “We are conce
