Tech Desk
Sep 19, 2024
Google has emerged victorious in the long-running war with the European Commission (EC) over antitrust charges. First, the European General Court recently refused to uphold a €1.49 billion fine issued by the EC in 2019 for abuse of a dominant position in online advertisements.
However, from the various antitrust fines that Google has been exposed to in its lifetime; the company has faced more than $11 billion worth of fines in the last decade alone. This latest reversal is just a big relief for this tech giant.
Google accused the European Commission of exploiting its market dominance by introducing tougher regulations on AdSense that would curb competition in online advertising.
It argued that the restrictive clauses in Google's AdSense platform only restricted competing ad services from competing against it. Google was thus found to have breached EU antitrust rules and was fined for doing so.
Google appealed, alleging that the EC failed to consider all the circumstances for the determination of the fine.
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The European General Court agreed, arguing that the Commission failed to show how Google's clauses produced a foreclosure effect or deterred innovation. This verdict does not let Google off scot-free but does overturn the fine.
Another antitrust case in point was that in which Qualcomm had attempted to contest an antitrust fine imposed on it for the amount of €242 million.
Qualcomm didn't fare any better in that one either; the General Court cut the amount by just €3.3 million, so Qualcomm still owed hundreds of millions.
Even though Google has managed to avoid this penalty, the European Commission is still free to appeal to it.
Even though Google managed to sidestep this penalty, there was awaiting it the antitrust case. For instance, the US Court has ruled against the company for its monopolistic practices.
