Google has emerged victorious in its battle against a hefty €1.49bn fine imposed by the European Union for allegedly blocking rival online search advertisers. The EU had accused Google of abusing its market dominance by restricting third-party rivals from displaying search ads between 2006 and 2016.
Europe’s second-top court ruled in favor of Google, stating that the European Commission had “committed errors in its assessment.” The Commission, which levied the fine, has stated that it will “reflect on possible next steps,” including a potential appeal to the EU’s top court.
Google welcomed the ruling, stating, “We are pleased that the court has recognized errors in the original decision and annulled the fine.” The tech giant, which has faced fines totaling 8.2 billion euros between 2017 and 2019 over antitrust violations, sees this as a rare win in its legal battles.
Despite this victory, Google continues to face scrutiny over its ad tech business in various jurisdictions. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority recently found the company guilty of using anti-competitive practices, while the US government is also taking legal action against Google’s parent company, Alphabet, for allegedly operating a monopoly in the market.
The case in question revolved around Google’s AdSense product, which delivers adverts to websites. The Commission had concluded that Google abused its dominance by preventing websites from using ad brokers other than AdSense, and imposed the hefty fine as a penalty.
While the EU’s General Court upheld most of the Commission’s findings, it annulled the decision to impose the fine, citing errors in the assessment of contract clauses and market definition. The court ruled that the Commission did not establish an “abuse of dominant position.”
This ruling marks a significant development in Google’s legal battles, highlighting the complexities of antitrust regulations in the tech industry. The tech giant will now closely review the full decision as it navigates the ongoing challenges to its market dominance.
