European court: Google must pay €2.4bn

Search giant loses the war over ad placement but likely won't be concerned about size of sanction

Trade

Image: Bernd von Jutrczenka via dpa

The European Union was right to fine Google in 2017 for abuse of power with product comparison engine Google Shopping, Europe’s highest court has ruled.

Nine years have passed since Europe announced an investigation against Google’s abuse of power with its product search engine. Today the final legal hammer has fallen.

The €2.4 billion fine was justified and must be paid, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled. The appeal has now been rejected.

The tech giant will not feel much pain from the fine. Last quarter, it posted a net profit of $23.6 billion.

In addition to a monetary penalty, Google also received community service. The Shopping “carousel” at the top of search results was allowed to stay, but other product and price comparison sites would also have to be able to show products from affiliated online stores. And it did. Other comparers have been able to advertise in that Shopping window alongside the general Google results for some time. The community service penalty became a new revenue model.

In practice, the penalties did not benefit European businesses at all. European product and price comparison sites never became a serious competitor to the American concern.

Read More: EU European Union Google