Google wins appeal against $1.7 billion EU fine over online advertising practices

Alphabet unit Google successfully overturned a €1.49 billion ($1.66 billion) antitrust fine, imposed by the European Commission in 2019 for hindering rivals in online search advertising. 

The Luxembourg-based General Court annulled the fine while upholding most of the Commission’s findings.

The European Commission accused Google of abusing its market dominance by preventing websites from using ad brokers other than its AdSense platform from 2006 to 2016. This case, part of a larger series of antitrust investigations, was based on a 2010 complaint from Microsoft.

While the court agreed with much of the Commission's assessment, it ruled that the fine should be annulled. The judges noted that the Commission failed to consider all relevant factors, particularly the duration of certain contractual clauses deemed unfair.

The decision follows Google’s earlier move in 2016 to amend the contracts in question, before the Commission’s ruling.

This ruling comes a week after Google lost its final challenge to a €2.42 billion fine over its price comparison shopping service. The recent annulment, however, reduces the overall fines Google has faced in a series of antitrust cases from the European Union to €8.25 billion.

The case, T-334/19, is titled Google and Alphabet v Commission (Google AdSense for Search).