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I tend to agree with the underlying judgment, yet the record-breaking fine seems disproportionate to the debatable degree of wrongdoing, compared to the Intel case, where the (obviously reprehensible) extortion of distributors etc. only led to a fine of about €1.06B.



The fines aren't made up arbitrary numbers, and the article is clear on that too.

"In accordance with the Commission's 2006 Guidelines on fines (see press release and MEMO), the fine has been calculated on the basis of the value of Google's revenue from its comparison shopping service in the 13 EEA countries concerned."


I'd say the problem isn't so much that Google's fine is too high, but that Intel's fine was too low.


They are both really low.


Apparently both are less than a third of the maximum penalty.


What matters more than the absolute sum is the amount of "pain" it causes. It's therefore tied to size more than just "evilness".


I'm convinced the fine should be calculated according to the ability to pay.




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