Google Asks Court to Dismiss $1.6 Billion Fine Imposed by EU

Google reportedly stopped websites from using brokers other than AdSense for search adverts.

By Reuters | Updated: 2 May 2022 18:48 IST

Google Asks Court to Dismiss $1.6 Billion Fine Imposed by EU

Highlights

The case is one of three that has resulted in a total of EUR 8.25 billion
Google challenged the EU finding in Luxembourg-based General Court
Google previously lost a EUR 2.42 billion antitrust decision

Alphabet unit Google on Monday urged Europe's second-highest court to dismiss a EUR 1.49 billion ($1.6 billion) (roughly Rs. 11,986 crore) fine imposed by EU antitrust regulators three years ago for hindering rivals in online search advertising.

The case is one of three that has resulted in a total of EUR 8.25 billion (roughly Rs. 66,375 crore) in European Union antitrust fines on the world's most popular internet search engine.

The European Commission in its 2019 decision said Google had abused its dominance to stop websites using brokers other than its AdSense platform which provided search adverts. The Commission said the illegal practices occurred from 2006 to 2016.

Samsung Wins Patent for a Tri-Fold Smartphone With Specialised Barrier Layer for Improved Durability

Google subsequently challenged the EU finding in the Luxembourg-based General Court. The company will set out its case during a three-day hearing starting on Monday.

The EU competition enforcer's assessment of Google's dominance and the Commission's decision that search ads and non-search ads do not compete were wrong, Google said in a court document.

It also took issue with the Commission for saying the company's exclusivity, premium placement and minimum Google ads clauses were abusive.

Google Will Now Warn Users When Opening a Malicious Docs File on the Web

Google suffered a setback last year when it lost its court fight against a EUR 2.42 billion (roughly Rs. 19,466 crore) antitrust decision over the use of its own price comparison shopping service to gain an unfair advantage over smaller European rivals.

© Thomson Reuters 2022

Xiaomi 12 Pro is littered with features, but is that enough? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.