Turkish competition watchdog launches probe into Google

Turkey’s Competition Board has opened an investigation into Google after concluding in its preliminary findings that a complaint about its search results for shopping could be rightful, according to a report by the Hürriyet Daily News.

Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Friday that the board decided in its meeting last month to open a probe into four Google companies variously registered in the US, the EU and Turkey, namely, Google Reklamcılık ve Pazarlama Ltd. Şti, Google International LLC, Google LLC and Google Ireland Limited.

The complaint had claimed that Google “abuses its dominant position in the search engine market, making the business of its competitors in online shopping harder.”

The board decided that the findings in its preliminary review were serious and merited a full investigation.

Google will also make its defense in another case at Turkey’s Competition Board on Aug. 28 concerning its Android operating system and apps. Google was hit with a record-breaking 4,3 billion euro fine from the European Union last month for anticompetitive ”illegal practices” relating to its Android operating system.

The latest charge takes the total fine from the EU’s recent antitrust investigations to $6,7 billion, and Google may be hit by yet another substantial fine when the third investigation concludes.

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