EU fines Google €2.4bn, New York regulator joins multi-state licensing scheme, Singapore partners with Denmark on fintech, Australia ends double taxation on Bitcoin, and U.S. banks admit lack of payments strategy.

 

EU ISSUES GOOGLE WITH €2.4BN FINE

The European Union has handed Google a €2.4bn fine for violation of antitrust laws in its promotion of its own online shopping service.

Google was accused of abusing its market dominance as a search engine in displaying its own price comparison service above those of rivals in search results.

“What Google has done is illegal under EU antitrust rules,” said Margrethe Vestager, the European commissioner in charge of competition policy.

“It denied other companies the chance to compete on the merits and to innovate.

“And most importantly, it denied European consumers a genuine choice of services and the full benefits of innovation.”

It is the third largest fine issued in the EU’s history, after a €2.9bn penalty to a group of truckmakers for price collusion and an order for Apple to pay €13bn in back-taxes to Ireland.

Google is expected to appeal the decision.

 

NEW YORK JOINS MULTI-STATE LICENSING SCHEME

The New York Department of Financial