Matthew Widdop
Matty is a Junior SEO Executive at Intelligency, helping our clients to improve their digital performance. Matty is currently studying for his Level 3 Multi-Channel Marketer apprenticeship and has completed a Sport Journalism Degree at the University of Huddersfield.
Google has had their $1.49 billion antitrust fine overturned by the European Union General Court which represents a huge legal victory for Google in a long drawn-out battle with the EU over digital advertising rights.
Why were Google fined?
Google was accused by the European Commission of abusing its market position by creating exclusive deals with third parties to disallow competitors from running adverts on their websites.
Google has already been facing scrutiny in the US from the Department of Justice for their dominance of the search and advertising industry, most recently losing their antitrust lawsuit in relation to their exclusivity deal with Apple to be the iPhone provider’s main search engine in a deal worth over $20 Billion.
European Union General Court Verdict
The European Union General Court ruled that the European Commission had ‘’committed errors’’ in its assessments of Google’s position in the advertising industry.
In response, the European Commission said it would “reflect on possible next steps.”
The decision means that Google can continue to maintain their strong position in the digital advertising industry and the European Commission may have to alter their approach in the future. It still has the option to appeal the decision by the Court of Justice.
What does this mean for Google and Digital Advertising?
Google still has legal fires to put out, facing court action from the US Government, who alleged that Google is operating illegally in the space. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has also found Google to be using anti-competitiveness to dominate the search and advertising industry.
This most recent victory is a big step in the right direction for Google which has already been hit with fines worth £8.2 billion between 2017 and 2019 due to antitrust violations and failed to have one of these fines overturned last week.
