European Court Scrubs Brussels' €1.49 Billion Fine from Google

The European Court has wiped a €1.49 billion fine levied by the European Commission against Google in 2019 off the table. According to the judges, Brussels made mistakes in the evaluation of the investigation.

While the judges agree with the findings of the European Commission, they believe that the right conclusions were not drawn from these findings. The EU, in the eyes of the judges, did not sufficiently clarify that the three breaches constitute an abuse of power and that such practices have been in violation of European law for years.

The judges also find that the European Commission has not proven that the agreements do not hinder innovation, that they help Google maintain a dominant position, and that this harms consumers. Thus, the judges follow the defense of the company.

For Google, which made over €60 billion in profits last year, a fine of €1.5 billion was not a blow. However, the fine being wiped off the table is a moral victory in a long-running battle with the European Commission that has led to three fines so far. The company lost another case regarding abuse of power just this month.

The case now decided concerns agreements between third parties and Google. For example, it involves news sites and online shops that use the company's search technology on their websites, allowing users to search via Google. Just like with the search engine itself, ads are displayed in the search results. The website receives a share of the revenue.

In 2019, Brussels ruled that Google imposed requirements in the contracts between the parties that disadvantaged competing ad networks—such as Microsoft and Yahoo. In total, there were three breaches.

Google had, however, reportedly made "a large number of changes" when announcing the fine to address the European Commission's concerns.