On Wednesday, an EU court overturned a 1.49-billion euro ($1.65 billion) fine imposed on Google by Brussels for allegedly abusing its dominance in online advertising. The court ruled that Brussels did not fully consider all relevant factors when assessing the duration of the contract terms deemed abusive by the European Commission.
This ruling comes as a relief for Google, following a recent decision by the EU’s highest court to uphold a 2017 fine of 2.42 billion euros, which was issued for favoring its own comparison shopping service in violation of antitrust laws.
Between 2017 and 2019, the EU hit Google with a total of 8.2 billion euros in fines for various antitrust violations as part of its broader crackdown on big tech companies. The 1.49-billion euro penalty, one of three major fines, was focused on Google’s AdSense service.
The European Commission, the body responsible for regulating competition within the EU, acknowledged the court’s decision, stating that it would carefully review the ruling and consider potential next steps, including a possible appeal.
A Google spokesperson expressed satisfaction with the ruling, emphasizing that the company had already made changes to its advertising services in 2016, prior to the EU’s decision.
