Google's EU Court Victory: Antitrust Fine Overturned

Google celebrates a rare EU court win, overturning a $1.7 billion fine due to investigation errors.

### Google Secures Rare Legal Victory in EU Antitrust Case
* 🏛 Google has achieved a significant win in the lower tier of the EU General Court in Luxembourg, where a previous **$1.7 billion fine** imposed in 2019 has been **overturned**.
* ⚖ The fine was originally levied by EU antitrust chief **Margrethe Vestager** for allegedly **preventing rival search engines from placing ads** on various online platforms.
* 📝 EU judges identified multiple errors in the commission's investigations, particularly regarding **market definitions** and the **duration of the alleged abusive behavior**.
* 😊 Google expressed satisfaction with the court's decision, noting that the case impacted a **narrow area of text-only search ads** and that they had **adjusted contracts since 2016**.
* 🌍 However, the scrutiny of Google's advertising technology is ongoing, with **significant investigations happening both in the US and the EU**.
* 🔍 The current case focused on display advertising, while broader concerns loom over Google's **long-term sustainability** in the ad tech market.
* ⚔ The US Department of Justice is actively pursuing legal action against Google, and the EU is conducting its **fourth investigation**, which may lead to a **potential breakup order** in the future.

So this is a positive outcome for Google. Explain the basics of the court's decision. Yes. So it is actually quite a rare win for Google in the European Union's courts here. It's important to say this is a win in the lower tier court of the EU general court in Luxembourg. So the decision can actually be appealed to the European Court of Justice, which is the bloc's highest court. Now, effectively, this $1.7 billion fine was slapped on Google in 2019 after EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said that it was illegally preventing rival search engines run by the likes of Yahoo and Microsoft from placing ads on websites like online newspapers, travel platforms, and blogs, etc. But now, of course, that $1.7 billion fine has been struck out by EU judges who, as you've just said, cited a number of errors in the commission's investigations, including in their definitions of certain things like

market definition and the duration of the alleged abusive behaviour. Yeah, I mean, Google itself, funnily enough, saying they're pleased with this response. They said it really impacted on a very narrow subset of text-only search ads and basically they'd gone back and changed the contracts from 2016. But this isn't the only focus on ad tech and its power within that space, not just in Europe but also in the US. Yeah, indeed. So you have two parallel, I suppose, fronts really on Google's advertising technology business. So the case today was really more about display advertising. But when it comes to advertising technologies, there is a much more, if you like, existential risk to Google's long-term sustainability in these types of markets. You have the Department of Justice case that's obviously embroiled in legal proceedings at the moment, but also in the European Union, they have their own investigation open.

into Google's advertising technologies, which we assume could lead to an eventual breakup order, potentially in the coming months. That's an investigation that still needs to be concluded. But the European Commission is certainly making progress on what would be its fourth investigation into Google's business and potential abuses of dominance.

Google Wins Fight Over $1.7B EU Fine

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Bloomberg Technology

Google secured a rare win in the EU's lower court, with judges striking out a $1.

7 billion fine imposed in 2019 for allegedly preventing rival search engines from placing ads.

The court cited errors in the EU Commission's investigations, including market definition and the duration of the alleged abusive behavior.

While this case focused on display advertising, Google is also facing parallel legal challenges and investigations regarding its advertising technology business in both the US and the EU.

European Commission's Investigation into Google

The European Commission is conducting its fourth investigation into Google's advertising technologies, which may lead to a breakup order.

The investigation is ongoing and aims to address potential abuses of dominance by Google.

Progress is being made, and a conclusion is expected in the coming months.