Google fined 102 million euros by Italy's antitrust for abuse of dominant position

Google's dominant position comes from the Android OS and the Google Play Store.

Google has been fined 102 million euros.  (REUTERS)

Italy's competition watchdog said on Thursday it had fined Google 102 million euros for abuse of dominant position due to its Android mobile operating system and its app store Google Play. In a statement, the regulator said it had also required Google to make Enel X's app for services related to electric vehicle charging available on Android Auto.

Google was also recently fined by France, in December last year. France's competition authority fined Google 150 million euros ($167 million) for anti-competitive behaviour and for having unclear advertising on the Google Ads page.

The fine comes as France and other European countries maintain high levels of scrutiny on major US tech companies such as Google, Facebook, Apple, and Amazon, which are often criticised for having relatively low tax payments.

In September, Google agreed to pay close to 1 billion euros to French authorities to settle a fiscal fraud probe that began four years ago.

Google, which is the world's biggest internet search engine, has also faced growing regulatory scrutiny about the content it promotes in search results and ads.

Isabelle de Silva, head of the French competition authority, told news conference that Google's dominance in the online advertising business was "extraordinary", with the US company having a market share of around 90% in that field. Google said it would appeal the fine.