Google Offers Concessions to Europe After Record Antitrust Fine

Google announced concessions on Wednesday to European regulators over its online shopping service, signaling a new willingness by the Silicon Valley company to bow to tightening pressures from governments around the world.

The overhaul came after Google was hit by a record antitrust fine of 2.4 billion euros, or $2.8 billion, over the summer for unfairly favoring its own service over those of its rivals. The penalty, in one of the company’s most important markets, highlights the risks facing Google as it looks to protect its dominant position in online search in Europe and other parts of the world.

Its decision to effectively give competitors a better chance of attracting business in the online shopping sector could also set a precedent, raising the specter of Google being forced to open up more of its search tool to rivals.

Google said the changes would be introduced early on Thursday morning, meeting a deadline to open up its shopping platform to greater competition or potentially face further fines from the European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm. As a result, about a dozen shopping sites from companies besides Google could become more visible and accessible.

“We’re giving comparison shopping services the same opportunity to show shopping ads from merchants on Google’s search results pages as we give to Google Shopping,” Al Verney, a spokesman for Google in Brussels, said.

The fine against Google in June was among the most aggressive moves against an American technology company taken anywhere in the world. It immediately confirmed Europe’s role as the Western world’s toughest regulator of digital services. But it has also prompted criticism of Brussels, which has been accused of unfairly targeting United States businesses, claims European officials deny.