Google Wins Rare Legal Battle as €1.49 Billion Fine is Overturned

Google has successfully overturned a €1.49 billion (£1.26 billion) fine imposed by the European Union for allegedly blocking rival online search advertisers. The European Commission accused Google of abusing its market dominance by limiting third-party rivals from displaying search ads between 2006 and 2016.

However, Europe’s second-top court found that the Commission “committed errors in its assessment,” leading to the annulment of the hefty fine. In response, the European Commission stated it would “reflect on possible next steps,” which may include an appeal to the EU’s top court.

In a statement, Google expressed satisfaction with the ruling: “We are pleased that the court has recognized errors in the original decision and annulled the fine.” The company also noted it would review the full decision closely.

This verdict marks a rare win for Google, which has faced fines totaling €8.2 billion between 2017 and 2019 over various antitrust violations. Despite this success, Google remains under scrutiny globally. Just recently, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) provisionally found that it used anti-competitive practices to dominate the market. Additionally, the U.S. government has taken legal action against Google’s parent company, Alphabet, alleging it operates an illegal monopoly in the ad tech market. Google maintains that its market dominance results from the effectiveness of its products.