EU court rules in Google's favour, citing errors in the 2019 decision on blocking rival search ads
Google has won a court case against the European Union concerning a €1.5bn fine for restricting competition in online ads, according to Financial Post.
Judges at the EU’s General Court in Luxembourg supported Google's challenge to the 2019 fine, ruling that although regulators were mostly correct in their findings, they made key errors related to the duration of the alleged violations.
The European Commission had accused Google of using its dominant position as an online ad broker to prevent competitors like Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. from placing ads on third-party websites. This ruling, however, can still be appealed to the EU’s top court, the Court of Justice.
This decision follows recent court victories for EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager, including a win against Google's attempt to avoid a €2.4bn antitrust fine and Apple's bid to avoid a €13bn Irish tax bill.
The case concerning Google’s AdSense service is one of several major antitrust battles marking Vestager’s decade-long tenure.
EU regulators had targeted Google’s AdSense for Search product, which placed ads on platforms like newspaper websites and blogs. In 2019, the European Commission fined Google, citing contracts that prevented websites from accepting rival search ads.
These contracts were dropped by 2016 when the investigation intensified.
Despite agreeing with most of the Commission's findings, the court ruled that the EU made mistakes in assessing the duration and market scope of the violations in 2016.
The court found that the Commission had not sufficiently proven that Google’s actions constituted a continuous infringement of antitrust rules.
Google welcomed the ruling, stating it was “pleased that the court has recognized errors in the original decision and annulled the fine.” The company pointed out that the case focused on a narrow range of text-only ads and that it had changed its contracts in 2016 before the EU’s decision.
The European Commission responded by stating it would study the judgment and consider its next steps.
Vestager has fined Google over €8bn during her tenure and has launched another investigation into Google’s advertising technology business, suggesting that the company may need to be broken up to address antitrust concerns.
In addition, the US Department of Justice is also targeting Google’s advertising technology, pushing for similar actions as Vestager, including a potential breakup. A trial is currently underway in the US.
