Google on Tuesday lost an attempt to avoid a $2.7 billion fine imposed by European Union regulators for illegally throttling rival online shopping services, the latest in a series of legal setbacks for the tech giant.
The European Commission initially imposed the fine in 2017 after finding that Google had violated the law by prioritizing its own “comparison shopping services” in search engine results and lowering links to smaller local rivals.
The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg rejected Google's appeal, ruling that the ruling was justified because it covered the company's abuse of its dominant position in online search.
EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who has brought numerous enforcement actions against Google during her tenure, described the decision as a “major victory for digital fairness.”
“This confirms that Google has been favouring its own comparison shopping service and actively limiting choice for European users,” Vestager added.
European regulators have imposed fines of well over $8 billion on Google in three cases alleging anti-competitive behavior. In September 2022, Google lost an appeal after being fined $4 billion for stifling competition to its Android operating system.
In 2019, Google was fined $1.69 billion for blocking competing online search advertisers.
The Washington Post has reached out to Google for comment on the decision.
The penalty is one of several regulatory headaches for Google.
Last month, the company suffered a historic blow in the United States, when US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that it was operating an illegal monopoly in the online search industry.
In particular, the court criticized Google's reliance on billions of dollars in payments to smartphone makers like Apple and service providers like AT&T to ensure that its search engine is enabled by default on most devices.
Mehta is currently overseeing a second trial to determine the appropriate remedy, which could include breaking up Google's businesses.
A second Department of Justice lawsuit targeting Google's alleged monopoly on digital advertising technology began this week in federal court in Virginia.
In that case, the Justice Department is already seeking a forced breakup of Google's advertising business, including the sale of its Ad Manager product.
Justice Department lawyer Julia Tarver Wood argued Monday that Google maintains a “trinitarian monopoly” by controlling both the buyer and seller in most online ad transactions and also the products that match buyers and sellers.
