Dispute over search results
Google is going to the ECJ for antitrust fines
1/21/2022 7:26 am
After years of investigation, a court found internet giant Google guilty in November. The accusation: Abuse of the dominant market position and violations of antitrust law. Google is now appealing the fine of 2.4 billion euros that was imposed.
The US Internet company Google is appealing in the legal dispute over an EU antitrust fine worth billions. The company announced that it now wants to challenge the 2.4 billion euro fine imposed by the EU Commission before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) “after careful consideration”. Accordingly, there are “areas that require legal clarification”.
In November, the lower court of the European Union (EuG) confirmed Google’s fine. The Commission imposed the fine on the search engine operator in 2017 after a seven-year investigation and complaints from price comparison portals. Google has placed its own price comparison service at the top of the search results and at the same time downgraded comparison services from the competition, she justified her decision. The company abused its dominant position and violated EU antitrust law.
Google is arguing over several billion fines in court
Search engine results in 13 European countries, including Germany, are affected. Google went before the ECJ against the Commission’s decision. This largely confirmed the Commission’s assessment. Google preferred its own service to the competition instead of showing the best result first, it explained. Competing services would not have had a chance to be featured in the search engine as prominently – except in special boxes if they paid for it.
At the time, Google announced that the company had already made changes since 2017 to comply with the Commission’s decision. It may take another two years before the ECJ comes to a decision.
Google is also arguing with the EU Commission about further billions in fines in court. A lawsuit is directed against a record fine of more than 4.3 billion euros imposed in 2018 for illegal practices on Android mobile devices to strengthen its own search engine. Another lawsuit is about a fine of almost 1.5 billion euros for abusing a dominant position in the online advertising market.