Why the EU's $2.7 billion fine on Google defies logic

It's out of sync with rapid developments in search engines, doesn't benefit the consumer in any way

The European Union has fined Google a record $2.7 billion for breaching antitrust rules by abusing its dominance to give prominence to its own shopping service verticals. The EU says the move constitutes an illegal advantage to another Google product and has given the company 90 days to pay the fine and to “comply with the simple principle of giving equal treatment to rival comparison shopping services”. 

So, Google pays the fine and withdraws these verticals. On the face of it, the allegation that Google’s results are ‘biased towards its own properties’, such as websites or verticals on shopping, travel,