On Tuesday, Google was dealt a severe legal setback when its most recent appeal against substantial antitrust penalties was denied by the Court of Justice of the European Union. This ruling upholds the ruling of a lower court and authorizes a fine of €2.4 billion ($2.7 billion) imposed by the European Commission, the main EU antitrust regulator.
The dispute started because of a 2017 EU ruling that said Google was unfairly giving its own Google Shopping service preference over competing comparative shopping services in search results. This fine was a part of Brussels' larger campaign against large tech giants.
As part of the EU's heightened inspection of the digital industry, Google has been hit with three significant fines over the last 10 years, including this one from the European Commission. The court's decision upholds the previous rulings and keeps Google financially liable.
While acknowledging that it had already made adjustments in 2017 to satisfy the Commission's concerns, Google expressed dissatisfaction with the court's ruling. For shopping search listings, the company implemented an auction system to guarantee fair competition.
Google’s changes included bidding for shopping search listings alongside other comparison services, which the company claimed has been successful for over seven years. Despite these efforts, the company continued to contest the penalty in court.
Google's challenge was earlier denied by the EU General Court in 2021, which resulted in the Court of Justice's ruling to sustain the punishment. The decision was confirmed when the advisor to the Court of Justice suggested dismissing Google's appeal.
European consumer group BEUC welcomed the court’s ruling, highlighting its importance in maintaining effective competition law in digital markets. The group emphasized that Google’s practices had made rival services less visible, preventing consumers from accessing potentially better deals.
In addition to this case, Google is still contesting two other significant EU antitrust penalties. These involve its Android mobile operating system and its AdSense advertising platform. The company’s appeal against a €1.49 billion fine related to AdSense remains unresolved.
The ongoing legal battles reflect broader global regulatory efforts targeting the tech industry. The EU has expanded its investigations and introduced new regulations to address issues in social media and artificial intelligence.
Google is subject to more scrutiny in the US. The U.S. Department of Justice has accused Google of monopolistic activities in the digital advertising industry, and the trial is a federal antitrust case that started recently.
Furthermore, an increasing global focus on regulating the conduct of major internet corporations is seen in the accusations made by British competition regulators against Google for abusing its dominance in the ad tech sector. The fact that the EU is still looking into Google's ad tech company highlights how strict regulations are.
