Google Urges Court to Scrap $1.6 bln EU Antitrust Fine

  • 5/2/2022
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Alphabet unit Google on Monday urged Europes second-highest court to dismiss a 1.49-billion-euro ($1.6 billion) fine imposed by EU antitrust regulators three years ago for hindering rivals in online search advertising. The case is one of three that has resulted in a total of 8.25 billion euros in European Union antitrust fines on the worlds most popular internet search engine, The Associated Press said. The European Commission in its 2019 decision said Google had abused its dominance to stop websites using brokers other than its AdSense platform which provided search adverts. The Commission said the illegal practices occurred from 2006 to 2016. Google subsequently challenged the EU finding in the Luxembourg-based General Court. The company will set out its case during a three-day hearing starting on Monday. The EU competition enforcers assessment of Googles dominance and the Commissions decision that search ads and non-search ads do not compete were wrong, Google said in a court document. It also took issue with the Commission for saying the companys exclusivity, premium placement and minimum Google ads clauses were abusive. Google suffered a setback last year when it lost its court fight against a 2.42-billion-euro antitrust decision over the use of its own price comparison shopping service to gain an unfair advantage over smaller European rivals.

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