Google loses fight to overturn $2.7B EU fine for stifling online shopping rivals

Google lost its bid to escape a $2.7 billion fine imposed by European Union regulators for illegally stifling rival online shopping services on Tuesday — the latest in a slew of legal setbacks for the tech giant.

The European Commission initially imposed the fine in 2017 after determining that Google had violated the law by giving its own “comparison shopping service” priority placement in its search engine results while demoting links to smaller rivals in the region.

The EU’s Court of Justice in Luxembourg dismissed Google’s appeal – and found the find was correctly imposed because it targeted the company’s abuse of its dominant position in the online search.

EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager – who has pursued several enforcement actions against Google during her tenure – described the decision as a “big win for digital fairness.”

“It confirms that @Google favored its own comparison shopping service and actively limited choice for European users,” Vestager added.

European regulators have imposed well over $8 billion in pending fines against Google in a trio of cases targeting its allegedly anticompetitive conduct. In September 2022, Google lost an appeal of a $4 billion fine for throttling competition to its Android operating system.

In 2019, Google was slapped with a $1.69 billion fine for blocking rival online search advertisers.

The Post has reached out to Google for comment on the decision.

The penalties are one of several regulatory headaches for Google.

Last month, the company was dealt a historic blow in the US when US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled it operates an illegal monopoly over the online search industry.

In particular, the court called out Google’s reliance on billions of dollars in payments to smartphone makers like Apple and service providers like AT&T to ensure its search engine is enabled by default on most devices.

Mehta is currently overseeing a second trial determine appropriate remedies, which could include a breakup of Google’s business.

A second Justice Department case targeting Google’s alleged monopoly over digital advertising technology kicked off in Virginia federal court this week.

In that case, the DOJ is already seeking a forced breakup of Google’s ad business, including divestment of its Ad Manager product.

DOJ attorney Julia Tarver Wood argued on Monday that Google maintains a “trifecta of monopolies” by controlling both the buy and sell side of most online ad deals, as well as a product that matches buyers to sellers.