Google Fails in Final Appeal on EU Antitrust Fine

In a significant blow to Google, the European Union (EU) highest court has upheld a $2.7 billion antitrust fine against the tech giant. This ruling marks the end of Google’s final appeal, concluding a lengthy legal battle that has drawn intense scrutiny on major technology firms.

The fine was originally imposed by the European Commission in 2017. It was about Google’s abuse of its dominance and its preference of own comparison shopping service against its competitors. This provides support for the Commission as it fighting against Google anti competitive practices as seen in the European Court of Justice.

Same day Apple had also received some embarrassment. The European Court of Justice ruled against Apple’s appeal to avoid repaying $14.34 billion in back taxes to Ireland. This decision was given following another case concerned unlawful state aid complaint. It is the latest in a series of cases that show the commission has been asserting itself by seeking to sanction state aid and tax regimes which are considered unjust.

Both the tech giants have also run out of legal recourses in these cases which originated during the early 2010s. For EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager each win is the result of a strategy that has been brewing for 10 years and focused on taming Big Tech.

EU Assertive Tech Regulation

Legal and competition specialists regard those judgements as evidence of the EU’s eagerness to address the tech juggernauts. Leading competition lawyer Alex Haffner put these decisions down to EU authorities showing they ‘are willing to assert themselves’ in regulation.

Google’s fine in 2017 is one of the several big penalties that it receives from the EU. The company also has some other ongoing litigations with regards to a Android operating system and AdSense advertising platform.

Despite the hefty fines, Google and Apple are likely to absorb these costs with minimal impact on their financial stability. Together, the penalties amount to only 0.3% of their combined market value, which is a colossal $5.2 trillion.

EU regulatory measures have taken a turn for the worse, adding to investigations of Big Tech platforms and adopting DMA. This legislation aims to prevent monopolistic practices in the digital marketplace. Google and Apple are now facing pressure from regulators in EU, UK and in United States with more attention expecting from both.