EU High Court Tosses Google Shopping Appeal in Key Win for EC

Google abused its dominant position in several European online search markets and must pay a fine of about $2.7 billion (2.4 billion euros), the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled Tuesday. The decision is a "pivotal shift" in how digital companies are regulated, said EC Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager at a briefing. It highlights the power of EU competition law, some observers said. Google termed the ruling disappointing. The European Commission determined the amount of the fine.

In 107, the EC issued an antitrust decision against Google Shopping. Its findings were confirmed in 2021 when the EU General Court agreed the search giant was positioning and promoting its comparison shopping services more favorably than competing entities, driving traffic to its service to the detriment of rivals (see 2111100008). The ECJ upheld the lower court.

Asked what message the EC wants to send to Big Tech, Vestager replied that when the EC believes it has a competition case and can prove it, "we will press on." The decision shows "even the most powerful tech companies could be held accountable. No one is above the law."

Vestager acknowledged there's "no silver bullet, no slam-dunk" that will persuade Google to do what the EC wants it to do. As such, consumers continue paying higher prices when they shop online and see more of their data used, she said. A "real awakening" would occur should Big Tech get on the right side of things, because the world needs these companies' innovation.

Google emailed that it's "disappointed." The judgment relates to a specific set of facts, and Google made changes in 2017 to comply with the EC decision, it said. That approach "has worked successfully for more than seven years, generating billions of clicks for more than 800 comparison shipping services."

The decision "will be a most memorable day in the annals of antitrust" almost regardless of what the ECJ rules, Christian Bergqvist, University of Copenhagen associate professor-EU competition law, wrote Sept. 4, in a comment before the ruling. The ruling, he said in an interview Tuesday, is a big win for the EC, adding that a loss at the ECJ could have been politically embarrassing. There are a handful of cases where rivals are claiming compensation based on the outcome, said Bergqvist, who's also a senior fellow at George Washington University's Competition and Innovation Lab.

The decision is "a confirmation that EU competition law remains highly relevant in general markets," said Augustin Reyna, European Consumer Organisation Director General. Vestager's victory, and another judgment announced Tuesday (involving illegal state aid to Apple), comes when "some companies and politicians" in Europe "are complaining about too much competition" and blaming Vestager, wrote telecom consultant Innocenzo Genna.

The message from the ECJ "could not be clearer" and might weigh on the imminent decisions about the choice of assignments for future European commissioners, "competition first and foremost," Genna said.