European Court annuls €1.49 billion fine on Google

Google scored a major victory when the European Court of Justice overturned a €1.49 billion ($1.66 billion) fine imposed by the European Commission five years ago for breaching antitrust rules. The case, which focused on the tech giant's online advertising practices, has broad implications for the regulation of large tech companies in Europe.

Background to the case

The fine was imposed in 2019 for Google allegedly abusing its dominant position in online advertising by ordering third-party websites - websites that displayed ads alongside search results - to exclusively use its ads. The European Commission claimed that Google thereby restricted competitors' access to the market, leading to less choice for advertisers and website owners and thus higher prices for consumers.

The main problem was the so-called exclusivity clauses in Google's contracts, which were designed to prevent competitors from displaying similarly placed ads. The Commission argued that this behaviour harmed competition,…