La Court of Justice of the European Union ha dismissed the appeal presented by Google and its parent company, Alphabet, against the fine of 2,4 billion euros imposed by the European Commission in 2017. The accusation levelled at the Mountain View giant concerns the'abuse of its dominant position in the online search market, favoring its own product comparator over those of its competitors. The Court thus confirmed the ruling of the General Court of November 2021, which had already rejected Google's appeal. The Court's decision put an end to a seven-year legal battle, making the fine permanent.
The confirmation of the fine represents an important signal in the context of European technological regulation. Google was the first major technology company to be hit with such a large fine, at a time when the European Union is stepping up its surveillance of potential abuses of dominant positions in the technology sector.
The European Commission's investigation
The original fine, imposed by the European Commission in June 2017, was the result of an antitrust investigation lasted several years. The EU had established that Google, in thirteen countries of the European Economic Area, had manipulated the results of its online searches. The search engine presented his service in first position of product comparisons within visually appealing boxes, to the detriment of competitors, which appeared as simple generic links, relegated to less visible positions due to demotion algorithms.
The European Commission concluded that Google had abused its dominant position both in general research services market, both in that of the specialized product research services. Due to this anti-competitive conduct, the company was fined 2,424 billion euros. Alphabet, the holding company that controls Google, was held jointly responsible jointly and severally liable for part of the fine, equal to approximately 523 million euros.
Google's appeal
After the 2017 decision, Google and Alphabet have appealed the sentence of the Commission, bringing the case before the General Court of the European Union. In November 2021, the Court confirmed the Commission's decision, rejecting much of Google’s arguments that its practice did not have significant anti-competitive effects. While upholding the fine, the judges ruled that Google had not harmed the general search market, thereby overturning the EU’s proposed “extensive finding of infringement,” which could have led to an even higher fine.
The appeal to the Court of Justice
Not satisfied with the result, Google has subsequently brought the case to the Court of Justice of the EUand, asking for the total annulment of the Court's decision and the Commission's fine. The Court, however, rejected the appeal, confirming the validity of the previous sentence and, in fact, reiterating the company's guilt for abuse of a dominant position in the online search sector.
