Google v EU: Search giant appeals €2.4bn fine

11 Sep 2017

Google EMEA headquarters on Barrow Street in Dublin. Image: Laura Hutton/Shutterstock

Emboldened by Intel’s partial victory against EU competition watchdogs, Google is taking its battle to the General Court of the European Union.

Internet giant Google has lodged an appeal against the mammoth €2.4bn fine the EU imposed upon it last June.

Google was fined for allegedly positioning its own shopping comparison services at the top of search results while demoting those of rivals.

The search giant was given 90 days to end its anticompetitive practices or face a further fine amounting to 5pc of the average daily global earning of its parent company, Alphabet.

Onus is on EU regulators to prove wrongdoing

The appeal has been lodged at the Luxembourg General Court, Europe’s second-highest ranking court.

However, it could take years before the hearing is heard.

Last week, for example, Intel won a partial victory after being granted a review by the European Court of Justice of an appeal against a €1bn antitrust fine levelled against it in 2009.

The judgement was welcomed by tech companies that have fallen under EU scrutiny because it raises the bar for European regulators to prove actual wrongdoing.

Google EU/EMEA headquarters on Barrow Street in Dublin. Image: Laura Hutton/Shutterstock

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com