The technology giant now has the possibility to appeal to the highest European court, the Court of Justice of the EU.
The General Court of the European Union confirmed this Wednesday a hefty fine to the digital giant Google for 2,424 million euros, as a result of the abuse of a dominant position in its online price comparison mechanism, the court announced.
That court rejected an appeal by Google to the fine that had been originally imposed by the European Commission in 2017. The technology giant now has the possibility to appeal to the highest European court, the Court of Justice of the EU.
The case focuses on Google’s price comparison mechanism, in which it favored its own mechanism, Google Shopping, over other firms, in the presentation of results, thereby violating European regulations on free competition.
Thus, the General Court of the EU recognized the anti-competitive nature of this practice, considered that it produced “harmful effects” and rejected Google’s arguments to justify its conduct.
Therefore, the court “concludes its analysis considering that the value of the pecuniary fine imposed on Google must be confirmed,” the institution said in a statement.
The appeal of the fine had been filed by Google and a partner company, Alphabet.
Without leaving any doubts, the court reported that it “discards most of the action filed by the two companies, and maintains the fine imposed by the (European) Commission.”
In its ruling, the court noted that the Commission “did not establish that Google’s conduct had had anticompetitive effects on the general search market” and therefore annulled that specific part of the sanctions issued in 2017.
The investigation had been opened in 2010 by complaints filed by companies that felt harmed by Google Shopping, such as TripAdvisor or the French firm Twenga.
In addition to imposing the multimillion dollar fine, the European Commission had forced Google to modify the presentation of the results, under penalty of additional financial penalties.
The firm modified the presentation of the price comparison results, but the competing firms considered that the changes were insufficient, because they still do not allow fair competition. (I)
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