LONDON (AP) 鈥� Google lost its final legal challenge on Tuesday against a European Union penalty for giving its own shopping recommendations an illegal advantage over rivals in search results, ending a long-running antitrust case that came with a whopping fine.
The European Union鈥檚 Court of Justice upheld a lower court鈥檚 decision, dismissing the company鈥檚 appeal against the 2.4 billion euro ($2.7 billion) penalty from the European Commission, the 27-nation bloc鈥檚 top antitrust enforcer.
The commission's original decision in 2017 accused the Silicon Valley giant of unfairly directing visitors to its own Google Shopping service to the detriment of competitors. It was one of three that the in the previous decade as Brussels started ramping up its crackdown on the tech industry.
to comply with the commission鈥檚 decision requiring it to treat competitors equally. The company started holding auctions for shopping search listings that it would bid for alongside other comparison shopping services.
At the same time, the company appealed the decision to the courts. But the EU General Court, the tribunal's lower section, in 2021 and the Court of Justice鈥檚 adviser later the appeal.
Google is also appealing the other two EU antitrust penalties involving its Android mobile operating system and AdSense advertising platform. The company was dealt a setback in the Android case when the EU General Court 4.125 billion euro fine in a 2022 decision. Its initial appeal against a 1.49 billion euro fine in the has yet to be decided.
Those three cases foreshadowed expanded efforts by regulators worldwide to crack down on the tech industry. The EU has since opened more investigations into Big Tech companies and drafted new laws to clean up social media platforms and regulate artificial intelligence.
Google is facing particular pressure over its digital advertising business. In a federal antitrust trial set to begin Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice alleges the company holds a monopoly in the 鈥渁d tech鈥� industry.
British competition regulators accused Google last week of abusing its dominance in 鈥渁d tech鈥� while the EU is carrying out its own investigation.
The Associated Press
