Turkey hits Google with $36.6M fine for breaking competition law
Turkey's competition authority says Google broke the law by complicating organic search results and placing advertisements on top.
The Google logo is seen on a building at La Defense business and financial district in Courbevoie near Paris, France, September 1, 2020.
Turkish authorities have fined Google $36.6 million (296 million Turkish liras) for violating the country's competition law.
Turkey’s Competition Authority said on Wednesday that Google violated the law by complicating organic search results in the content services market by prominently placing text advertisements at the top of its general search results, excluding its competitors.
The investigation included Turkish Google Reklamcilik ve Pazarlama Ltd, Google International LLC, Google LLC, Google Ireland Ltd, and Alphabet – Google’s parent company – it added.
In November 2020, Turkey fined global companies, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, $1.18 million each, for failing to appoint a representative to the country as required by a new law.
READ MORE: Turkey fines social media giants for ignoring new laws
In September 2018, Turkey’s competition board fined Google $15 million (93 million Turkish liras) for violating competition law in relation to Android, its mobile operation system, as well as mobile apps and services.
READ MORE: Google hit with fine by Turkish competition authorities
In 2019, the European Commission also slapped a $1.69 billion fine on Google for breaking the EU’s anti-trust rules on online advertising.
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