Google has scored a major victory in its long-running battle with the European Union, overturning a €1.5 billion antitrust fine imposed by the EU’s General Court. This ruling marks a rare defeat for Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition commissioner, who has previously succeeded in taking on Big Tech firms. The court’s decision stems from Google’s appeal against the 2019 fine, which was based on allegations that the company’s AdSense for Search contracts unfairly restricted publishers from displaying rival ads on their websites.
In its ruling, the General Court stated that the European Commission had made “errors in its assessment” regarding the scope and duration of Google’s contracts with publishers. Essentially, the court argued that the EU investigators had failed to prove that Google’s contract clauses constituted an abuse of the company’s dominant market position. The judges also rejected claims that Google’s practices had harmed consumers or deterred innovation in online advertising.
The ruling emphasized that the European Commission had not demonstrated that the contract clauses in question had effectively strengthened Google’s hold over the national markets for online search advertising. This is significant because it weakens the core argument that Google’s contracts were anti-competitive. According to the tribunal, the Commission couldn’t provide enough evidence to support the claim that Google’s advertising contracts were harmful to competitors or consumers.
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A rare win for Google
This decision stands out as one of Google’s few successful appeals in its ongoing legal struggles with the EU. Earlier this month, the company failed to overturn a €2.4 billion fine related to its shopping search practices. Moreover, Google is still challenging a €4.3 billion penalty—its largest fine to date—regarding its Android mobile phone software. These cases underscore the aggressive stance the EU has taken against Big Tech, particularly Google, in recent years.
However, this latest victory doesn’t mean Google is out of the woods just yet. The European Commission is in the final stages of another investigation into Google’s advertising technology, with regulators even suggesting a potential breakup of the company’s services. The Commission has repeatedly targeted Google’s dominance in digital advertising, arguing that the company unfairly restricts competition through its business practices.
Although this ruling gives Google some breathing room, the company is still under intense scrutiny from European regulators. Beyond its ongoing battles over fines, Google is also facing two investigations related to the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a new EU law designed to curb the power of major tech firms. The DMA forces companies like Google to open their platforms to rivals and ensure that they are not favoring their own services over competitors’.
In the context of this ruling, it’s clear that Google’s legal battles with the EU are far from over. The search giant’s victory in overturning this particular fine doesn’t erase the fact that it remains a primary target in the EU’s broader campaign to regulate Big Tech. Google’s ongoing legal challenges, combined with the looming threat of future fines and investigations, suggest that the company will continue to face significant hurdles in Europe.
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