EU’s top court upholds $2.7 billion fine against Google

The European Union’s highest court has confirmed a record $2.7 billion (€2.4 billion) fine against Google for anti-competitive practices related to its Shopping service.

Details. The fine, initially imposed in 2017, was upheld by the EU Court of Justice today.

• Google was accused of favoring its own price-comparison service in search results, disadvantaging competitors.
• Google appealed the case to help circumvent potential similar fines and demands for change around other types of “vertical search” results such as maps/local, travel and other categories.
• The court ruled that Google’s conduct was “discriminatory” and fell outside the scope of fair competition.

Why we care. While Google has already made changes to comply with the 2017 decision, this ruling could lead to further adjustments in how Google shares data, algorithm transparency and more, impacting how advertisers strategize and spend their budgets.

What they’re saying:

• Google: “We are disappointed with the decision… This judgment relates to a very specific set of facts.” They then continued with noting that they had made changes to comply with the European Commissions decision in 2017.
• BEUC (European Consumer Organization): “The Court has confirmed that Google cannot unfairly deny European consumers access to full and unbiased online information.”