European regulators have hit Google with a €4.3 billion ($5 billion) antitrust fine for abusing the dominance of its Android mobile operating system.

Google was hit with the fine on Wednesday after the EU found the US company guilty of using its Android mobile operating system to block rivals.

Google’s Android operating system is the world’s most popular mobile software system, and is installed on more than 80 percent of smartphones globally.

The EU said that Google must make competition fairer and allow smaller players to earn.

The penalty from the European Commission is the highest antitrust violation fine that has ever been imposed on a company for breaching EU competition rules.

The previous record was a €2.4 billion penalty on Google for manipulating search results to promote its own price comparison services over those from competitors.

Shares in Google’s parent company Alphabet slid more than one percent in US premarket trading.

The European Commission continues the investigation on a third Google antitrust case. Competition authorities have said Google could have used its AdSense advertising service to thwart rivals. Google is accused of blocking rivals in online search advertising.

source: RT.com