Google faces a $14.85 million fine from Turkish competition authority over hotel searches

On Monday, Turkey’s competition authority announced a substantial fine of approximately 482 million lira ($14.85 million) against Google for failing to fulfill obligations related to hotel searches, reports Reuters.

This latest penalty highlights ongoing concerns about Google’s compliance with fair competition standards in Turkey, commentators are arguing.

The Turkish Competition Board determined that Google did not address the competition board’s concerns about ensuring fair competition with local search engines, particularly in the context of hotel inquiries.

As a result, the authority has imposed this significant fine, effective from April 15. Google will incur an administrative penalty amounting to five ten-thousandths of its 2023 revenues for each day it fails to meet these obligations.

This is not the first time Turkish authorities have sanctioned Google. In 2021, Google faced a fine of 296 million lira ($36.6 million) for violating competition laws by complicating organic search results in the content services market.

The tech giant was found to be giving undue prominence to its text ads at the top of general search results, effectively excluding competitors.

Additionally, in November last year, Google was fined 196.7 million lira for abusing its dominant market position. The Turkish Competition Authority’s scrutiny of Google dates back several years, with fines totaling millions of lira for various violations.

In February of last year, another fine of 98.3 million lira was imposed on Google for unfair access to advertisement space, following a 2019 investigation into abusive tactics aimed at undermining rivals.

This pattern of fines and regulatory actions against Google in Turkey echoes similar challenges the company has faced globally. Notably, in 2019, the European Commission fined Google $1.69 billion for breaching the EU’s anti-trust rules on online advertising.

The Turkish Competition Authority’s ongoing efforts to enforce fair competition practices reflect a broader regulatory trend aimed at curbing the market dominance of major tech companies.