Europe’s top court has ruled Google must pay a €2.4bn (£2bn) fine handed down to the tech giant for abusing the market dominance of its shopping comparison service.
The tech giant had been appealing against the fine, which was originally levied by the European Commission in 2017.
It was at the time the largest penalty the Commission had ever levied – though it has since been supplanted by a €4.3bn fine, also against Google.
It brings an end to a long-running case that was first brought by a British firm in 2009, when the UK was still part of the EU.
It is also the latest in a series of recent high profile clashes between Google and international regulators.
On Monday, it was taken to court by the US government over its ad tech business – it has been accused of illegally operating a monopoly. That trial is ongoing.
Last week, UK regulators said they had provisionally concluded Google used anti-competitive practices to dominate the market for online advertising technology.
The EU case started with UK firm Foundem, which filed its complaint against the tech giant in 2009.
At its heart was the contention that Google made its own shopping recommendations appear more prominent than rivals in search results.
Google had tried to argue that the case had no legal or economic merit.
But seven years ago, the Commission agreed that the tech giant effectively monopolised online price comparison by preventing others from getting a foothold in the market.
That decision has now been upheld.
Industry insiders have been keeping a close eye on the EU case, with suggestions that its outcome may illuminate the direction of travel of the many other antitrust cases Google is currently facing from the European Commission.
The search giant has amassed fines of €8.2bn from the Commission, which has repeatedly alleged it abused its dominant market position. These are:
- 2017: €2.4bn fine over shopping results
- 2018: €4.3bn fine over claims it used Android software to unfairly promote its own apps
- 2019: €1.5bn fine for blocking adverts from rival search engines
The EU is also currently investigating the firm over whether it preferences its own goods and services over others in search results, as part of its Digital Markets Act.
If it finds Google guilty, the firm could face a fine of up to 10% of its annual turnover.
