Google Fails to Avert a $2.7 Billion EU Antitrust Penalty
The CJEU judges clarified that EU law does not prohibit a dominant market position itself but does condemn the abusive exploitation of such a position.
BRUSSELS—On Tuesday, Alphabet's Google lost its appeal against a €2.42 billion ($2.7 billion) fine imposed by EU antitrust regulators seven years ago, marking one of several significant penalties the company has faced for anti-competitive practices.
The European Commission originally fined Google in 2017 for using its own price comparison shopping service to gain an unfair advantage over smaller European competitors.
In 2021, a lower tribunal upheld the EU's decision, leading Google to appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Luxembourg.
The CJEU judges clarified that EU law does not prohibit a dominant market position itself but does condemn the abusive exploitation of such a position.
They stated, “In particular, the conduct of undertakings in a dominant position that has the effect of hindering competition on the merits and is thus likely to cause harm to individual undertakings and consumers is prohibited.”
Over the past decade, Google has accumulated €8.25 billion in EU antitrust fines.
The company has contested two other rulings related to its Android operating system and AdSense advertising service and is currently awaiting decisions on these cases.
Additionally, Google is contesting new EU antitrust charges from last year, which could potentially compel the company to divest part of its profitable adtech business following accusations of favoring its own advertising services.
The case is C-48/22 P Google and Alphabet v Commission (Google Shopping).
($1 = 0.9060 euros)
