The European Court of Justice (ECJ) rejected Google’s appeal on Tuesday, upholding a €2.4 billion ($2.7 billion) fine for promoting its own comparison shopping service over rivals. This ruling intensifies the pressure on Google, which is already facing antitrust scrutiny from regulators worldwide.
€2.4B Google Shopping Fine : Google’s Unsuccessful Appeal
The fine, originally imposed by the European Commission in 2017, stems from accusations that Google abused its dominance as a search engine to favor its Google Shopping service over competitors. Google argued in its appeal that the lower court had wrongly concluded it was required to provide competitors with better access to search results. The company claimed there was no evidence that its actions extended beyond fair competition.
However, the ECJ rejected Google’s arguments. “The General Court correctly established that, in the light of the characteristics of the market and the specific circumstances of the case, Google’s conduct was discriminatory and did not fall within the scope of competition on the merits,” the court stated.
Favoring Google Shopping Over Competitors
Enforcers accused Google of prominently displaying Google Shopping listings at the top of search result pages while pushing down those of rival comparison services. The General Court ruled in 2021 that while the European Commission had not demonstrated that this behavior affected competition in the broader search market, the penalty still stood. The court noted that the commission had not factored in the size of the search market when calculating the fine, yet upheld the €2.4 billion penalty for Google’s practices regarding Google Shopping.
€2.4B Google Shopping Fine : Advocate General’s Opinion
Earlier this year, Advocate General Juliane Kokott advised the ECJ to reject Google’s appeal. Kokott emphasized that Google had engaged in unfair practices by prioritizing its own services over other comparison shopping platforms. The advocate general also dismissed Google’s claim that it was being treated as an essential facility, a critical infrastructure that must provide access to competitors.
Google’s History of Antitrust Fines
The €2.4 billion fine was the largest ever imposed by the European Commission until Google faced another record penalty in 2018. That year, the company was fined €4.34 billion for abusing the dominance of its Android mobile operating system. Although the General Court later reduced the Android fine by €215 million in 2022, the bulk of the penalty remained intact. Google is appealing the Android case to the ECJ.
