Google Loses Fight Against $2.7-B EU Antitrust Fine

Alphabet's Google has lost its appeal against a €2.42 billion ($2.7 billion) fine imposed by EU antitrust regulators seven years ago, one of three major penalties issued to the company for anti-competitive practices, reported Foo Yun Chee and Marine Strauss for Reuters.

Google is also contesting EU antitrust charges issued last year, which could force the company to sell part of its adtech business.

The European Commission fined Google, the world’s most popular internet search engine, in 2017 for unfairly favoring its own price comparison shopping service over smaller European rivals.

A lower tribunal upheld the EU competition authority’s decision in 2021, leading Google to appeal the ruling to the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). CJEU judges emphasized that while EU law does not penalize the existence of a dominant position, it does prohibit its abusive exploitation.

“In particular, the conduct of companies in a dominant position that hinders competition on the merits and is likely to cause harm to individual companies and consumers is prohibited,” they said.

Google has accrued €8.25 billion in EU antitrust fines over the past decade. The company is currently challenging two other rulings related to its Android mobile operating system and AdSense advertising service, with judgments pending.

Google is also contesting EU antitrust charges issued last year, which could force the company to sell part of its adtech business after regulators accused it of favoring its own advertising services.