Margrethe Vestager – Photo © European Union 2021
(LUXEMBOURG) – The EU’s General Court upheld Wednesday a EUR 2.42 billion fine imposed by the Commission on Google in 2017 for abusing its market dominance in favouring its own comparison shopping service.
The Commission had taken Google to the Court of Justice for displaying its own service prominently at or near the top of the first search results page, irrespective of how good or relevant it was, while rival services were demoted to page four or lower, where they were not even seen.
The Court’s answer to Google’s appeal has delivered a clear message that Google’s conduct was unlawful and it provides the necessary legal clarity for the market.
Comparison shopping is seen as delivering an important service to consumers, especially at this time, when e-commerce has become more and more important for retailers and consumers.
As digital services have become omnipresent in our society nowadays, the Commission says consumers should be able to rely on them in order to make informed and unbiased choices.
The EU executive adds it will continue to use all tools at its disposal to address the role of big digital platforms on which businesses and users depend to, respectively, access end users and access digital services.
Antitrust enforcement goes hand in hand with the EU’s legislative action to address specific issues going beyond competition law.
In this regard, the Commission’s proposal for a Regulation on Digital Markets Act to ensure fairness and contestability is currently discussed by the European Parliament and the Council.
Judgment in Case T-612/17 – Google and Alphabet v Commission (Google Shopping)
