Why the EU Slapped Google Over Product Searches

European regulators have hit the “send” button on a record 2.4 billion-euro ($2.7 billion) antitrust fine for Google. Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s competition commissioner, says Google abused its dominant market position by putting its own shopping service at the top of search results -- some of the best real estate on the internet. The ruling goes to the very nature of Google’s business. (For analysis, see our TOPLive blog.)

It’s fashionable to brush off any fine to a large, extremely profitable company. Especially a company that -- at the parent level -- has more than $90 billion in spare cash. But it’s not really about the initial fine, as big as it is. The EU has given Google 90 days to stop its practices. If the company doesn’t comply, it risks fines of up to 5 percent of parent Alphabet Inc.’s daily revenue. Essentially, Google has to change how its search function works. That’s like telling a carmaker to change the way its cars drive. Given how lucrative promoting its comparison shopping has been for Google, that’s a blow.