Google wins EU court fight, €1.49b fine annulled
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The news: Google won an appeal against a €1.49 billion ($2.45 billion) antitrust fine from the European Union, as the EU General Court annulled a 2019 ruling related to its AdSense platform.
The European Commission had found Google abused its dominance from 2006 to 2016 by blocking websites from using ad brokers other than its AdSense platform.
But the commission had failed to demonstrate that Google's contractual clauses deterred innovation, strengthened its dominant position in online search advertising or harmed consumers, the court said.
The court agreed with some aspects of the Commission's argument but ultimately annulled the fine due to critical gaps.
The Commission may appeal the decision on “limited points of law only” and has just over two months to do so.
Google dropped the problematic contracts in 2016, as the EU was escalating its investigation.
The context: The victory follows Google’s defeat last week in another EU case, where a €2.42 billion fine was upheld for favouring its own shopping services.
In a separate ruling, the court slightly reduced a 2019 fine imposed on Qualcomm for predatory pricing, from €242 million to €238.7 million.
What they said: Google welcomed the court’s ruling, while the European Commission said it would reflect on the court’s judgment.
The source: Ruling of the Court of Justice of the EU
