Google could be fined more than $15 million a day unless it gets its house in order over Android
- Google has been fined €4.3 billion ($5 billion) by the EU antitrust watchdog over its Android monopoly. But the EU isn't done yet.
- Google has 90 days to get its house in order. If it doesn't, it will be fined up to 5% of its daily revenue for each day it fails to comply with EU laws.
- That means it could be fined as much as $15.2 million a day, on top of the $5 billion penalty.
Google may have just been fined €4.3 billion ($5 billion/£3.8 billion), but there's plenty more pain to come unless it gets its house in order.
That's the message from the European Commission, which punished Google on Wednesday for breaking EU antitrust laws by abusing the dominance of Android. The Commission identified three key transgressions, which prompted the $5 billion fine:
- Requiring mobile device manufacturers to preinstall Google's browser and search apps for access to the Play store.
- Paying manufacturers to exclusively preinstall Google Search.
- Preventing manufacturers from selling devices running alternative versions of Android.
The Commission said if these issues are not put right within 90 days, Google will be fined up to 5% of the global daily revenue of its parent company Alphabet.
Alphabet's total annual revenue stood at $110.9 billion last year, which evens out at a daily average of approximately $304 million. That means Google could be stung with penalties of as much as $15.2 million a day, on top of its existing $5 billion fine.
Google said it intends to appeal Wednesday's ruling, but a Commission spokesman told Business Insider that this would not automatically affect the 90 day period or any non-compliance penalties levied thereafter. Although, of course, if Google theoretically won an appeal against Wednesday's decision, it might be possible to have subsequent fines reversed.
The Commission has imposed this style of daily fine before. In 2008, it levied a €899 million combined penalty on Microsoft for failing to comply with a decision filed in 2004, which found it had abused its dominant position to demand unreasonably high prices for interoperability information.
A Google spokesman said: "Android has created more choice for everyone, not less. A vibrant ecosystem, rapid innovation, and lower prices are classic hallmarks of robust competition. We will appeal the Commission's decision."