Google's $2.42 Billion Fine Leads to Mandatory Comparison Shopping Services
A comparison shopping service (CSS) is an intermediary that collects product offers from online retailers and allows shoppers to compare prices. In Europe, a CSS is mandatory for merchants who want to display Shopping ads or listings on Google in 21 countries.
The Commission's decision in Case AT.39740 fined Google $2.42 billion euros in June 2017 for abusing its dominance by demoting rival comparison services and promoting its own Shopping platform. The remedy required that competing services be treated no less favourably than Google's own within general search results pages.
Google implemented the CSS program, which allows merchants to submit their product data through a separate console called the CSS Center. This center manages merchant accounts, diagnostics, and permissions, and some third-party services even run feeds and campaigns on behalf of merchants.
Merchants must pay a fixed percentage margin from each bid before it enters the auction, which deducts between 15-20% from the cost per click. This has led to a significant increase in third-party product advertisements, with over 700 CSS groups placing ads across 1,550 websites in the European Economic Area and the UK.