Europe’s highest court has upheld a €2.4 billion (£2 billion) fine against Google for abusing its market dominance with its shopping comparison service.
The tech giant had challenged the fine, which was originally imposed by the European Commission in 2017.
At the time, it was the largest penalty ever imposed by the Commission, although it has since been surpassed by a €4.3 billion fine also levied against Google.
This ruling concludes a protracted legal battle that began in 2009, initiated by British firm Foundem when the UK was still a member of the EU.
Another of the complainants, shopping comparison site Kelkoo, called the ruling “a win for fair competition and consumer choice” in a post on X.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ), which issued today’s ruling, affirmed that the European Commission was correct in finding Google’s conduct “discriminatory” and dismissed the tech giant’s appeal in its entirety.
The court has ordered Google and its parent company, Alphabet, to cover their own legal costs as well as those incurred by the European Commission.
The BBC has reached out to Google and Alphabet for a response.
Anne Witt, a Professor of Law at EDHEC Business School in France, described the ruling as “an important judgment.”
“This is bad news for Google, which has exhausted its legal remedies in this case,” she said – while pointing out there could be further problems ahead for the firm.
“Several follow-on actions by injured parties claiming compensation for losses suffered as a consequence of Google’s anticompetitive conduct are already pending in national courts.”
On Monday, Google faced a court case brought by the US government over its ad tech business, with accusations of illegal monopoly practices. This trial is currently underway.
Last week, UK regulators provisionally found that Google had employed anti-competitive practices to monopolize the online advertising technology market.
Price comparison
The EU’s case against Google began with a complaint filed by Foundem in 2009, alleging that Google had unfairly promoted its own shopping recommendations over those of competitors in search results.
Google argued that the case lacked legal or economic merit.
However, seven years ago, the European Commission determined that Google had effectively monopolized the online price comparison market, obstructing competitors.
This decision has now been upheld by the European Court of Justice.
The outcome of this case is closely watched by industry insiders, as it may influence the direction of other antitrust cases Google is facing from the European Commission.
To date, Google has accrued €8.2 billion in fines from the Commission, which has repeatedly accused the company of abusing its dominant market position.
- 2017: €2.4bn fine over shopping results
- 2018: €4.3bn fine over claims it used Android software to unfairly promote its own apps
- 2019: €1.5bn fine for blocking adverts from rival search engines
The EU is also currently investigating the firm over whether it preferences its own goods and services over others in search results, as part of its Digital Markets Act.
If it finds Google guilty, the firm could face a fine of up to 10% of its annual turnover.
It is far from the only clash between the EU and big tech.
In a separate judgement today, the ECJ has told Apple it must pay back €13bn (£11bn; $14bn) in unpaid taxes to Ireland.