Google wins court backing in $1.7 billion EU antitrust dispute over ads By Investing.com

Europe’s second-highest court ruled in favor of Alphabet (NASDAQ: ) Google on Wednesday, overturning a 1.49 billion euro ($1.66 billion) antitrust fine imposed five years ago for restricting competition in online search advertising.

“The court (…) upheld most of the commission’s assessments, but overturned the decision to impose a fine of almost 1.5 billion euros on Google, in particular because it did not take into account all the relevant circumstances in its assessment. of the duration of the contractual clauses that he considered to be unfair,” the judges said.

The Commission could challenge the decision, possibly sending it to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), the bloc’s first instance.

The case dates back to 2019, when the European Commission accused Google of exploiting its dominance with its AdSense for search product, which allows websites to embed ads in their own search results. The commission argued that Google’s restrictive contractual terms with third-party websites prevented competitors from placing ads on those sites, leading to the fine.

Google appealed, bringing the case to the Tribunal.

Several key legal decisions between US and EU tech giants have recently emerged.

Earlier this month, the ECJ upheld a 2.4 billion euro fine against Google for promoting its comparison shopping service against rivals.

The fine stemmed from a 2017 antitrust investigation led by the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union. At that time, the Commission determined that Google had given preferential treatment to its own comparison shopping service, putting competitors at a disadvantage.

Google appealed the decision of the General Court, the EU’s second highest court, which upheld the fine. The company then escalated the case to the ECJ.

Meanwhile, the same court recently ruled that Apple (NASDAQ: ) must pay Ireland €13 billion in back taxes, ending a decade-long dispute.