Europe News

Google still a ‘wonderful’ company, says EU's top antitrust enforcer after $2.7 billion fine

Key Points
  • The U.S. tech giant has been investigated by the European Commission on several fronts for concerns over competition
  • Google received a 2.42 billion euro fine in June
European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager holds a news conference at EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, July 14, 2016.
Francois Lenoir | Reuters

Google is still very much a force for good and has many positive attributes, according to the EU's competition commissioner who slapped the tech giant with a $2.7 billion fine earlier this year.

"This is a decision about legal behavior that they (Google) should and can correct," Vestager said about June's fine for the U.S. firm. However, she added that Google doesn't have a bad attitude towards competition.

"In other respects, Google is a wonderful company, very, very innovative and they have brought us innovation that has changed our lives," she told CNBC on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti Forum Saturday.

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The U.S. tech giant has been investigated by the European Commission on several fronts for concerns over competition. It inclusively received a 2.42 billion euro fine in June for giving illegal advantage to its own comparison shopping service. This week, Google reportedly submitted details of how it planned to stop favoring its shopping service and comply with the EU order.

Regulators are continuing to investigate two other charges, including whether the Android mobile operating system is being used to promote other Google products at an unfair disadvantage to rivals.