Tech
Google loses final EU court appeal against $2.7bn fine in antitrust shopping case
Search engine giant Google has lost its final court appeal against the European Union’s $2.7 billion fine in an antitrust shopping case for giving its shopping recommendations an illegal advantage over rivals in search results.
When the EU discovered that Google’s shopping comparison service had violated competition laws, it fined Alphabet, the company’s parent, a then-record €2.42 billion (about $2.7 billion at current exchange rates) and made adjustments to the way the site is run.
Google, however, challenged the ruling, and in November 2021, the General Court of the European Union essentially rejected the case.
It affirmed the Commission’s penalty and demonstrated that self-preferring its shopping service in general search results was anti-competitive and hurt competing shopping comparison services.
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The company’s appeal against the $2.7 billion fine from the European Commission, the leading antitrust enforcer for the 27-nation bloc, was denied by the European Union’s Court of Justice on Tuesday, which affirmed a previous court’s ruling.
“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.
Google has expressed its disappointment with the decision, as the court’s ruling brings an end to a protracted antitrust dispute that came with a sizeable fine.
“We are disappointed with the decision of the Court, which relates to a very specific set of facts,” Google said in a brief statement.
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