Google scores first appeal win against EC antitrust fines

Google has won its appeal against a €1.49bn antitrust fine levied by the European Commission (EC) in 2019 for blocking competition from other search engines in favour of its AdSense platform.

The European General Court said it has upheld “most of the Commission’s assessments” but that it has annulled the decision to fine Google €1.49bn five years ago on the grounds that the EC “failed to take in account all the relevant circumstances in its assessment of the duration of the contractual clauses that it had found to be unfair”.

The decision comes one week after the European Court of Justice upheld a €2.43bn fine imposed by the EC against Google in 2017 for prioritising its own comparison shopping service.

In the AdSense case, the EC found Google offered its AdSense search function to third-party websites, largely publishers, but Google imposed contracts that prevented the websites from placing search adverts from competitors.

The EC said the contracts amounted to exclusivity clauses that prevented competition in search adverts. Margrethe Vestager, EC commissioner in charge of competition policy, said at the time: “Google has cemented its dominance in online search adverts and shielded itself from competitive pressure by imposing anti-competitive contractual restrictions on third-party websites.”

Google is also challenging the largest fine of €4.3bn imposed by the EC in 2018, which remains Europe’s highest antitrust, for placing restrictions on Android smartphone to favour its internet search engine. While the General Court reduced the fine slightly to €4.1bn in 2022, Google will challenge the EC before the European Court of Justice.