The penalty is the highest ever imposed on a company for breaching E.U. rules.
ADVERTISEMENTBRUSSELS — European Union antitrust regulators levied a record $5.04 billion fine against Google on Wednesday for illegal restrictions on Android smartphone makers and mobile network operators.
The European Commission ordered Google to end the illegal conduct within 90 days or face additional penalties of up to 5 percent of parent Alphabet's average daily worldwide turnover.
The E.U. enforcer also dismissed Google's arguments citing Apple as a competitor to Android devices, saying the iPhone maker does not sufficiently constrain Google because of its higher prices and switching costs for users.
In June 2017, regulators already charged Google $2.8 billion for favoring its shopping listings in search results. Google appealed that decision, while rolling out a compromise this year that lets competitive comparison shopping engines bid for slots in an auction, a system that critics say still favors the tech giant.