Google achieved a significant legal victory on Wednesday, overturning a €1.49 billion ($1.7 billion) fine imposed by the European Union (EU) for antitrust violations.
The original fine resulted from a 2019 European Commission ruling, which found Google guilty of abusing its dominant position by restricting websites from using ad brokers other than its own AdSense platform. These practices were deemed to have occurred between 2006 and 2016, and the Commission accused the tech giant of anti-competitive behavior.
However, the Luxembourg-based General Court, the EU’s second-highest court, partially overturned the European Commission’s decision.
While the court did agree that Google had engaged in anti-competitive conduct, it nullified the hefty fine. The court’s ruling pointed to the Commission’s failure to consider the broader context surrounding the case fully, thus invalidating the financial penalty.
The European Commission can appeal the ruling to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the bloc’s highest judicial body. In response to the court’s decision, the Commission said it would carefully review the judgment before determining its next steps.
