Google slapped with another billion-dollar fine by EU regulators

EU antitrust regulators handed down a 1.49 billion euro ($1.69 billion) fine to Alphabet unit Google on Wednesday for blocking rival online search advertisers, marking the company's third penalty in two years. The fine is related to Google's AdSense advertising service, a person familiar with the matter said last week.

Google on Tuesday had also unveiled a series of tweaks to its European search engine results in an effort to avoid further fines from the EU's top anti-trust regulator.

Last year, the EU competition enforcer imposed a record 4.34 billion euro fine on Google for using its popular Android mobile operating system to block rivals. This followed a 2.42 billion euro fine in 2017 for hindering rivals of shopping comparison websites.