Google wins battle against EU: won't have to pay €1.5 billion antitrust fine
Google will not have to pay the €1.5 billion fine imposed by the European Union over alleged antitrust practices related to the company’s advertising business, the EU’s General Court, which is handling the case, has decided, ending a deal with the tech giant.
The EU charges related to alleged abuse of dominant position in the online advertising market, which could have affected competition. Finally, Google managed to win this legal battle and will not have to face the fine.
The court’s ruling upheld Google’s appeal, which found that Google had failed to prevent rivals, including Microsoft or Yahoo, from placing their ads on third-party websites despite Google’s privileged position. While the court agreed with part of the European Commission’s assessments, the ruling found that regulators had made errors during an investigation conducted before filing their charges against the company in 2019.
“The Court upheld most of the Commission’s assessments, but overturned the decision that imposed a fine of almost €1.5 billion on Google, arguing in particular that it had not taken into account all relevant circumstances in its assessment of the duration of contractual clauses that might have been considered abusive.”
It's not all good news. Last week, Google was ordered to pay €2.4 billion in antitrust penalties for favoring its own products and services in Google searches.