Google wins challenge against EU’s $1.49 billion antitrust fine

Google has overturned a €1.49 billion fine imposed by the European Commission for allegedly stifling competition in its AdSense for Search (AFS) advertising platform.

The General Court, a lower court of the European Union (EU), ruled in Google’s favor despite upholding most of the Commission’s initial findings. 

The key issue, as per Google, was the duration of certain clauses in contracts that the tech giant had with publishers using AFS.

The Commission argued that clauses restricting publishers from displaying ads from competing services constituted an abuse of Google’s dominant market position. 

These clauses were in effect for a decade, since 2006, however, Google successfully argued that the Commission failed to consider the fact that many of these contracts were short-term and subject to renegotiation.

The Court found that the Commission didn’t properly assess whether publishers had opportunities to use competing services during renewals or when they had the right to terminate the contracts. 

Additionally, the Commission lacked data specifically from 2016, the final year the clauses were in effect, which could have shown if they actually restricted competition.

As a result of these shortcomings, the General Court annulled the Commission’s decision in its entirety, meaning that Google will not have to pay the fine.

The decision reflects the mixed results of outgoing EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager’s efforts to challenge Big Tech in court. 

Just last week, she secured two notable victories: one in a case against Google and another involving Apple’s €13 billion back taxes with Ireland.

Although Google prevailed in this case, it remains under scrutiny in both the EU and the US for ongoing antitrust investigations. 

In the EU, authorities are looking into whether Google gives preferential treatment to its own ad tech services and assessing its adherence to the Digital Markets Act. 

Meanwhile, in the US, the Department of Justice and several state Attorneys General are probing Google’s dominance in the advertising technology sector.