BRUSSELS, Sept 10 (Askume) – Alphabet ‘s Google on Tuesday lost its fight against a 2.42 billion euro ($2.7 billion) fine imposed by the European Union’s anti-competition watchdog, one of three major penalties it could face.
The world’s most popular online search engine was fined by the European Commission in 2017 for using its comparison shopping service to gain an unfair advantage over smaller European rivals .
A lower court upheld the EU competition enforcer’s decision in 2021 , prompting Google to appeal to the Luxembourg-based EU Court of Justice.
The judges of the Court of Justice of the European Union said that EU law does not sanction the existence of a dominant position, but rather its abuse.
He said: “It is specifically prohibited for operators with a dominant market position to conduct actions that hinder competition and may harm individual enterprises and consumers.”
Over the past decade, Google has faced EU antitrust fines of 8.25 billion euros. It has challenged two rulings relating to its Android mobile operating system and AdSense advertising service and is currently awaiting verdicts.
The company is also battling EU antitrust charges issued last year , which could force it to sell part of its lucrative ad technology business after regulators accused it of favoring its advertising services.
The case is C-48/22P Google and Alphabet v Commission (Google Shopping).
(1 USD = 0.9060 EUR)
