Google Loses EU Antitrust Appeal, 2.4 Billion Euro Fine Upheld
By Rediff Money Desk, London Oct 09, 2024 16:14
Google has lost its final appeal against a 2.4 billion Euro fine from the EU for giving its own shopping service an unfair advantage. The ruling upholds a 2017 decision finding Google guilty of antitrust violations.
London, Oct 9 (AP) Google lost its final legal challenge on Tuesday against a European Union (EU) penalty for giving its own shopping recommendations an illegal advantage over rivals in search results, ending a long-running antitrust case that came with a whopping fine.
The European Union's Court of Justice upheld a lower court's decision, rejecting the company's appeal against the 2.4 billion Euro (USD 2.7 billion) penalty from the European Commission, the 27-nation bloc's top antitrust enforcer.
"By today's judgment, the Court of Justice dismisses the appeal and thus upholds the judgment of the General Court," the court said in a press release summarizing its decision.
The commission punished the Silicon Valley giant in 2017 for unfairly directing visitors to its own Google Shopping service to the detriment of competitors. It was one of three multibillion-Euro fines that the commission imposed on Google in the previous decade as Brussels started ramping up its crackdown on the tech industry.
We are disappointed with the decision of the Court, which relates to a very specific set of facts, Google said in a brief statement.
The company said it made changes in 2017 to comply with the commission's decision requiring it to treat competitors equally. It started holding auctions for shopping search listings that it would bid for alongside other comparison shopping services.
Our approach has worked successfully for more than seven years, generating billions of clicks for more than 800 comparison shopping services, Google said.
At the same time, the company appealed the decision to the courts. But the EU General Court, the tribunal's lower section, rejected its challenge in 2021 and the Court of Justice's adviser later recommended rejecting the appeal.
European consumer group BEUC hailed the court's decision, saying it shows how the bloc's competition law remains highly relevant" in digital markets.
"Google harmed millions of European consumers by ensuring that rival comparison shopping services were virtually invisible," director general Agustin Reyna said. Google's illegal practices prevented consumers from accessing potentially cheaper prices and useful product information from rival comparison shopping services on all sorts of products, from clothes to washing machines.
Google is still appealing the other two EU antitrust penalties, which involved its Android mobile operating system and AdSense advertising platform. The company was dealt a setback in the Android case when the EU General Court upheld the commission's 4.125 billion Euro fine in a 2022 decision. Its initial appeal against a 1.49 billion Euro fine in the AdSense case has yet to be decided.
Those three cases foreshadowed expanded efforts by regulators worldwide to crack down on the tech industry. The EU has since opened more investigations into Big Tech companies and drafted new laws to clean up social media platforms and regulate artificial intelligence.
Google is now facing particular pressure over its lucrative digital advertising business. In a federal antitrust trial that began Monday, the US Department of Justice is alleging the company holds a monopoly in the ad tech industry.
British competition regulators accused Google last week of abusing its dominance in ad tech while the EU is carrying out its own investigation.
The European Union's Court of Justice upheld a lower court's decision, rejecting the company's appeal against the 2.4 billion Euro (USD 2.7 billion) penalty from the European Commission, the 27-nation bloc's top antitrust enforcer.
"By today's judgment, the Court of Justice dismisses the appeal and thus upholds the judgment of the General Court," the court said in a press release summarizing its decision.
The commission punished the Silicon Valley giant in 2017 for unfairly directing visitors to its own Google Shopping service to the detriment of competitors. It was one of three multibillion-Euro fines that the commission imposed on Google in the previous decade as Brussels started ramping up its crackdown on the tech industry.
We are disappointed with the decision of the Court, which relates to a very specific set of facts, Google said in a brief statement.
The company said it made changes in 2017 to comply with the commission's decision requiring it to treat competitors equally. It started holding auctions for shopping search listings that it would bid for alongside other comparison shopping services.
Our approach has worked successfully for more than seven years, generating billions of clicks for more than 800 comparison shopping services, Google said.
At the same time, the company appealed the decision to the courts. But the EU General Court, the tribunal's lower section, rejected its challenge in 2021 and the Court of Justice's adviser later recommended rejecting the appeal.
European consumer group BEUC hailed the court's decision, saying it shows how the bloc's competition law remains highly relevant" in digital markets.
"Google harmed millions of European consumers by ensuring that rival comparison shopping services were virtually invisible," director general Agustin Reyna said. Google's illegal practices prevented consumers from accessing potentially cheaper prices and useful product information from rival comparison shopping services on all sorts of products, from clothes to washing machines.
Google is still appealing the other two EU antitrust penalties, which involved its Android mobile operating system and AdSense advertising platform. The company was dealt a setback in the Android case when the EU General Court upheld the commission's 4.125 billion Euro fine in a 2022 decision. Its initial appeal against a 1.49 billion Euro fine in the AdSense case has yet to be decided.
Those three cases foreshadowed expanded efforts by regulators worldwide to crack down on the tech industry. The EU has since opened more investigations into Big Tech companies and drafted new laws to clean up social media platforms and regulate artificial intelligence.
Google is now facing particular pressure over its lucrative digital advertising business. In a federal antitrust trial that began Monday, the US Department of Justice is alleging the company holds a monopoly in the ad tech industry.
British competition regulators accused Google last week of abusing its dominance in ad tech while the EU is carrying out its own investigation.
Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Read More On:
DISCLAIMER - This article is from a syndicated feed. The original source is responsible for accuracy, views & content ownership. Views expressed may not reflect those of rediff.com India Limited.
You May Like To Read
TODAY'S MOST TRADED COMPANIES
- Company Name
- Price
- Volume
- Srestha Finvest
- 0.68 (+ 3.03)
- 21947208
- GTL Infrastructure
- 2.10 ( -3.67)
- 14293733
- Vodafone Idea L
- 8.19 ( -3.08)
- 13814956
- AvanceTechnologies
- 0.85 ( -4.49)
- 9039038
- Alstone Textiles
- 0.80 ( -3.61)
- 9001128
MORE NEWS
Sensex, Nifty Plunge: Reliance Industries Drags...
Indian stock markets, Sensex and Nifty, experienced a sharp decline in early trade,...
Rupee Steady Against US Dollar: Forex Market...
Rupee trades in a narrow range against the US dollar, impacted by foreign fund outflows...
Coal India Aims for Dividend Return by FY'26
Coal India aims to eliminate ECL's losses and rejoin the dividend list by FY'26, with...