Google Loses Final EU Court Appeal Over €2.4 Billion Antitrust Fine in Shopping Case

Google has lost its final legal challenge against a massive €2.4 billion ($2.7 billion) fine imposed by the European Union in a landmark antitrust case. The case centers on Google’s abuse of its dominance in search results by giving its shopping service an unfair advantage over competitors.

On Tuesday, the EU’s Court of Justice upheld a lower court ruling, rejecting Google’s appeal against the European Commission’s decision. The commission had originally issued the fine in 2017, accusing the tech giant of promoting its Google Shopping service over rivals in search results.

"The Court of Justice dismisses the appeal and thus upholds the judgment of the General Court," the court said in its press release.

This case was one of three hefty fines levied against Google over the past decade as the EU escalated its scrutiny of Big Tech’s business practices. The 2017 ruling accused Google of deliberately directing traffic to its own shopping service, harming competitors and limiting consumer access to alternative services.

Google responded to the latest court decision by expressing disappointment. "This decision relates to a very specific set of facts," the company said in a brief statement. Google also noted that it had already made adjustments back in 2017 to comply with the EU’s demands, including holding auctions for shopping search listings where it competes alongside other comparison shopping services.

Google stated that this approach has worked well over the past seven years, leading to billions of clicks for over 800 comparison shopping services.

Despite the changes, Google continued to challenge the commission’s decision in court. However, in 2021, the EU’s General Court rejected Google’s appeal, and the company’s final attempt was similarly dismissed this week by the Court of Justice.

Consumer advocacy group BEUC praised the ruling, highlighting its significance for competition in the digital market. “Google harmed millions of European consumers by making rival comparison shopping services practically invisible,” said BEUC director general Agustín Reyna. He added that Google’s practices prevented consumers from accessing potentially better prices and product information from competing services.

Google still faces appeals on two other major EU antitrust cases. One involves its Android mobile operating system, and the other relates to its AdSense advertising platform. In the Android case, Google was handed a €4.125 billion fine, which was upheld by the EU General Court in 2022. Its appeal over a €1.49 billion AdSense fine is still pending.

These cases signaled a broader wave of regulatory crackdowns on Big Tech, with regulators worldwide intensifying their efforts to address concerns over monopolistic practices. The EU has since launched additional investigations into large tech firms and introduced new legislation to regulate social media and artificial intelligence.

Google is also under pressure in the U.S., where the Department of Justice recently launched a federal antitrust trial accusing the company of monopolizing the digital advertising industry. Meanwhile, British regulators have similarly accused Google of abusing its dominance in ad tech, and the EU is conducting its own investigation into the company’s advertising practices.

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