Overnight Tech: EU hits Google with record fine | Amazon gears up for lobbying battle | Facebook hits 2 billion users | New ransomware spreads across globe

GOOGLE HIT WITH MASSIVE EU FINE: The European Union on Tuesday fined Google a record $2.7 billion for abusing its dominant position as a search engine to advance its own products.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, said that Google gave itself an illegal advantage by boosting its own comparison shopping service on its website at the expense of its competitors’ products.

“Google’s strategy for its comparison shopping service wasn’t just about attracting customers by making its product better than those of its rivals,” said Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s commissioner of competition. “Instead, Google abused its market dominance as a search engine by promoting its own comparison shopping service in its search results, and demoting those of competitors.”

{mosads}Google says that it disagrees with the commission’s findings and will consider making an appeal as it reviews the findings.

The commission took issue with Google placing its shopping comparison results at the very top of its search results, above other competitors. According to the commission’s findings, Google “systematically” gave “prominent placement to its own comparison shopping service,” and it “demoted rival comparison shopping services in its search results.”

The commission gave Google 90 days to stop its current shopping comparison practices “or face penalty payments of up to 5 percent of the average daily worldwide turnover of Alphabet, Google’s parent company.”

The company will now have to give “equal treatment” to its competitors, by showing rival comparison shopping sites in the same position and display as its own service.

Google defended its comparison-shopping service product in a blog post issued shortly after the EU announced its decision. The search giant said that its product was mutually “useful” for “connecting our users with thousands of advertisers, large and small.”

Read more here.

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GOP SENATOR ASKS DOJ TO SCRUTINIZE AT&T-TIME WARNER MERGER: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told the Department of Justice on Monday that she wants closer scrutiny of AT&T’s merger with Time Warner.

In a letter to acting Assistant Attorney General Andrew Finch, Collins expressed concern with a consolidation of power that could lead to “reduced programming choices and higher prices for consumers.”

“The risk is real that the acquisition of such a prominent content producer by a distributor of AT&T’s size could allow it to dramatically reduce consumer choice in favor of its new in-house brand,” Collins wrote.

Read more here.

AMAZON GEARING UP FOR MERGER BATTLE: The proposed $13.7 billion merger of Amazon and Whole Foods is primed to set off a massive lobbying effort in Washington.

Amazon has been moving into new markets and seeking ways to deliver products faster to customers, including a drone fleet for local deliveries, making the Whole Foods deal just the latest example of its growing ambitions.

Some industry analysts say the deal should face a relatively smooth path to federal approval because Whole Foods only represents a 1.2 percent share of the $800 billion grocery market, while Amazon only has a 0.2 percent share.

But there may be several other factors that come into play for the review of the Amazon-Whole Foods deal.

Read more here.

FACEBOOK NOW HAS 2 BILLION USERS: Facebook announced on Tuesday that it now has 2 billion users visiting its site every month.

“As of this morning, the Facebook community is now officially 2 billion people!” CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a post. “We’re making progress connecting the world, and now let’s bring the world closer together.”

The milestone comes as the company grapples with a number of controversies related to its platform and scrutiny from regulators in Europe.

Read more here.

NEW RANSOMWARE ATTACK: A new, fast-growing ransomware outbreak is spreading across Europe, with infections also reported in the United States and India.

Though widely reported to be a variant of the Petya ransomware, there is disagreement among researchers as to whether it is actually Petya or something with a similar design.

The ransomware encrypts files on Windows computers and demands a $300 ransom to have them unencrypted.

Read more here.

GOP LAWMAKER VAPES DURING HEARING: The vaping congressman is back at it again.

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), who infamously puffed from a nicotine vaporizer during a committee meeting last year, protested a proposal to ban e-cigarettes on airplanes by vaping in the middle of a markup on Tuesday.

This time, Hunter pulled out two different devices to illustrate what he argued were flaws in an amendment that Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) offered to an aviation bill.

Read more here.

ON TAP:

The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee will hold a hearing on materials science at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday.

The Federal Trade Commission and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will host a workshop on automated vehicle security at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday

The Charles Koch Institute, Engine and TechFreedom are holding a joint event on encryption at noon on Wednesday.

The Data Coalition will hold their DATA Act Demo Day at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

FCC chairman reveals new details about cyberattack following John Oliver segment

Reuters: U.S. antitrust lawsuit against Qualcomm to proceed, judge rules

The Wall Street Journal: Sprint in talks with Charter, Comcast for wireless deal

Congressional Black Caucus calls on Uber to hire executives of color

CNN: Facebook backs California law to give internet to incarcerated youth

TechCrunch: You can now request an Uber for someone else in your contacts