European Commission to hit Google with fines ‘large enough to act as a deterrent’ in antitrust investigation

The long running antitrust case faced by Google in Europe appears to possibly have an end in sight at long last. Earlier this year, it was revealed that the European Commission was preparing to file antitrust charges against the company, some five years after the investigation started. Now, Bloomberg reports that Google has been told by the European Commission to expect large fines as part of the probe.

The fine, according to the report, “would be large enough to act as a deterrent” for Google. The fine could be based on the AdWords revenue from European users, while Google will also be forced to make changes to how its shopping services are displayed to users.

The fines come after Google and the commission tried to settle the investigation three times, while other large companies asked the European Union to investigate Google for its anticompetitive actions. A settlement is still possible between Google and the European Union, but seems unlikely at this point.

The European Commission “intends to set the fine at a level which will be sufficient to ensure deterrence,” the EU regulator said in the document. The regulator “considers that, based on the facts described in this statement of objections, Google committed the infringement intentionally or, at the very least, negligently.”