European Union has fined Google with a  €1.49bn (£1.28bn) for blocking rival online search advertisers. It is the third EU fine for the Google in two years. The case accuses Google of abusing its market dominance by restricting third party rivals from displaying search adverts between 2006 and 2016.

In response, Google changed its AdSense contracts with large third parties, giving them more leeway to display competing search ads. Google owner Alphabet makes large amounts of money from advertising – pre-tax profits reached $30.7bn (£23bn) in 2018, up from $12.66bn in 2017.

“Google has cemented its dominance in online search adverts and shielded itself from competitive pressure by imposing anti-competitive contractual restrictions on third-party websites. “This is illegal under EU antitrust rules,” said EC commissioner Margrethe Vestager.