It has not been a good news week for Google’s European business.
In a significant setback for Google’s attempts to overturn a 4.34 billion euro ($4.33 billion) antitrust fine, on Wednesday (Sep. 14), the European Union’s general court upheld a 2018 ruling against Google’s parent company, Alphabet, for unfairly taking advantage of the dominance of its Android operating system.
To make matters worse for the search giant, in the next big antitrust case on the horizon, the Guardian reported this week that Google’s practices in the ad tech industry could end up costing the company a further 25 billion euros ($24.96) billion in compensation thanks to class action lawsuits being brought in the Netherlands and the U.K.
A Trio of EU Antitrust Cases
In the Android case, Google was initially slapped with a 4.34 billion euro ($4.33 billion) fine by the European Commission for breaching EU antitrust rules. As the Commission explains on its website, “Google has imposed illegal restrictions on Android device manufacturers and mobile network operators to cement its dominant position in general internet search.”
Following an appeal, the tech giant can receive some solace from the fact that although the judge upheld the initial ruling that it broke competition rules, it was at least granted a reduction in the fine from 4.34 billion euros to 4.125 billion euros ($4.12 billion).
See more: Google’s Appeal of EU’s Record Fine Nets 5% Reduction
“The General Court largely confirms the Commission’s decision that Google imposed unlawful restrictions on manufacturers of Android mobile devices and mobile network operators in order to consolidate the dominant position of its search engine,” the court said.
“In order better to reflect the gravity and duration of the infringement, the General Court considers it appropriate however to impose a fine of €4.125 billion on Google, its reasoning differing in certain respects from that of the Commission,” judges said.
Alphabet still has the option to appeal to the EU Court of Justice, but it has yet to do so with regards to another fine relating to Google’s prioritization of its own price comparison shopping service, which the EU claims gives it an unfair advantage over smaller European rivals.
In that case, the general court also upheld the commission’s decision and Alphabet currently faces a fine of 2.42 billion euros.
Commenting on this week’s court decision, EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager summed up the EU’s position.
“This, of course, is really good. Now, we have the second Google judgment and for us, it is really important as it backs our enforcement efforts,” she said.
In a final case currently going through European courts, Google is appealing a 1.49 billion euro fine for manipulating the market for online advertising by using its search dominance to discourage advertisers from using rival platforms.
Read on: Google Gets Hit With Third EU Fine Over Its Business Practices
Although the smallest in value of the three antitrust fines the EU has issued against Alphabet, the AdSense case has some far-reaching implications. While the specific practices that led to the initial fine were ended in 2016, Google’s current advertising business model is under threat on multiple fronts.
Worse still for the company, if the focus moves from regulator-issued fines to court-ordered redress schemes, thousands of European businesses may be liable to claim compensation from Alphabet.
Google’s AdTech Headache
As the Guardian reported this week, twin lawsuits being prepared in the U.K. and the Netherlands are seeking compensation for businesses that have been unfairly impacted by Google’s practices in the online advertising space, where the firm’s AdTech currently has a strong footing in the value chain.
Learn more: Google’s Latest EU Antitrust Battle Goes to the Core of AdTech Business
According to legal experts cited by the Guardian, the total value of the combined claims could reach 25 billion euros, a figure that would dwarf the 8.25 billion euros in fines issued by the European Commission to date.
In a sign that Alphabet recognizes the litigious implications of any perceived anticompetitive practices in its AdTech business, in June the firm offered to allow rival intermediaries to place advertisements on YouTube in what has been widely considered a move to appease another EU probe into the way Google controls access to advertising data.
Read more: Google Offers Rivals YouTube Ad Space Amid EU Probe
Back on the company’s home turf, Google has even offered to break up its AdTech business in an attempt to appease the Department of Justice, which is preparing its own antitrust case on the issue.
Continue reading: Google Offers to Break Up $209 Billion Ad-Tech Unit To Appease Regulators
On both sides of the Atlantic, after a decade or more of threats and small-fry legal battles, the regulatory big guns have finally gotten into gear and Google is on the back foot.
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