Google Loses Appeal Against 2017 EU Ruling & $2.8B Fine

The EU’s General Court ruled Wednesday that the European Commission was right in fining Google for an antirust breach, reported The Wall Street Journal.

The ruling comes after the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, said in 2017 that Google had favored its own comparison shopping services and fined the company 2.42 billion euros ($2.8 billion) for breaching antitrust rules. Alphabet-unit Google contested the claims using the EU’s second-highest court.

“The General Court finds that, by favoring its own comparison shopping service on its general results pages through more favorable display and positioning, while relegating the results from competing comparison services in those pages by means of ranking algorithms, Google departed from competition on the merits,” the court said in a press release Wednesday.

In addition, the court also confirmed the fine at 2.42 billion euros. “The General Court concludes its analysis by finding that the amount of the pecuniary penalty imposed on Google must be confirmed,” the court added.

Wednesday’s verdict can be appealed and taken to the EU’s highest court.