*By Alisha Haridasani*
Google on Wednesday said it will appeal a record $5 billion fine from EU regulators for using its Android platform to quash competition.
But its argument may not have legs to stand on, said Quartz reporter Edmund Heaphy.
"The law is quite clear-cut, and the antitrust regulations are quite clear," he said. "This isn't a new thing for the EU. Microsoft was fined in 2004 for a very similar practice."
The European Commission holds that Google unfairly leveraged the market position of Android, the mobile operating system that powers about 80 percent of phones in the world.
“Google has used Android as a vehicle to cement the dominance of its search engine,” said Commissioner Margrethe Vestager in a [statement](http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-18-4581_en.htm).
The company has 90 days to end its illegal practices and, if it fails to comply, parent company Alphabet will be forced to fork over 5 percent of its average daily revenue. The company brought in $103 billion last year.
Google argues its Android system has, in fact, encouraged competition.
“Rapid innovation, wide choice, and falling prices are classic hallmarks of robust competition, and Android has enabled all of them,” said CEO Sundar Pichai in a [blog post](https://blog.google/around-the-globe/google-europe/android-has-created-more-choice-not-less/).
The Silicon Valley giant offers the Android system for free to handset makers and makes money off of its search engine. This ruling, however, could force Google to radically change that business model and instead start charging manufacturers to use Android, said Pichai.
The fine announced Wednesday is the largest antitrust penalty ever levied, further demonstrating the European bloc's attempts to rein in tech companies that, across the Atlantic, are perceived as untouchable.
The EU slapped Google with a separate $2.7 billion fine last year ー which at the time set its own record ー for unfairly promoting its own shopping service in search results. And in May the union implemented the General Data Protection Regulation, raising the standards for user data privacy and forcing companies around the globe to alter their data collection processes.
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/google-hit-with-5-billion-eu-fine)
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
