The European Court of Justice has ruled that Google must pay a €2.4bn (£2bn) fine for abusing its dominant position in the market for comparison shopping services.
The tech giant appealed the initial fine imposed by the European Commission in 2017.
At the time, it was the largest fine ever imposed by the Commission – although it was later replaced by a €4.3bn fine, also imposed on Google.
The ruling ends a long-running case first brought by British company Foundem in 2009, when the UK was still part of the EU.
Another complainant, shopping comparison site Kelkoo, called the ruling “a victory for fair competition and consumer choice.” in a post on X.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ), which delivered today’s ruling, said in its ruling that the Commission was correct in finding Google’s conduct “discriminatory” and that Google’s appeal “must be dismissed outright”.
The court ordered Google and its parent company Alphabet to bear their own costs and pay the costs paid by the European Commission.
The BBC has contacted Google and Alphabet for comment.
This is the latest in a series of recent clashes between Google and international regulators.
On Monday, the company was taken to court by the US government over its advertising technology business — it is accused of operating an illegal monopoly. That trial is still ongoing.
Last week, UK regulators have provisionally concluded Google has used anti-competitive practices to dominate the online advertising technology market.
In a separate ruling, the European Court of Justice also Apple ordered to pay back €13bn (£11bn; $14bn) in unpaid taxes to Ireland
The EU’s case against Google began with Foundem, which filed a complaint against the tech giant in 2009.
At the heart of the debate is Google’s move to make its shopping recommendations appear more prominently than competitors’ in search results.
Google has sought to argue that the lawsuit has no legal or economic merit.
But seven years ago, the Commission agreed that the tech giant had a monopoly on online price comparison by preventing others from gaining a foothold in the market.
That decision has now been upheld.
Industry insiders are closely watching the EU case, with suggestions that its outcome could shed light on the direction of many other antitrust cases Google currently faces with the European Commission.
The search giant has been hit with a fine of up to €8.2 billion from the Commission, which has repeatedly accused Google of abusing its dominant market position. These include:
- 2017: 2.4 billion euro fine for procurement results
- 2018: €4.3 billion fine for allegedly using Android software to unfairly promote its own apps
- 2019: €1.5 billion fine for blocking ads from rival search engines
The EU is also currently investigating the company over whether it favours its goods and services over others in search results, under the Digital Markets Act.
If Google is found guilty, the company could face fines of up to 10% of its annual revenue.
