compilated by: Sahar Yaghoubi
The European Commission issued a €2.42 billion antitrust penalties on Google for its shopping business, and Google lost its appeal. It is still possible to appeal to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
The Commission said that Google had unfairly redirected visitors to Google Shopping using its dominating search engine. The initial €2.42 billion punishment issued by the European Commission on Google for allegedly abusing its market dominance in online shopping has been maintained by the European Court of Justice (ECG).
More than €8.2 billion in EU antitrust penalties are pending against the tech giant, including a record-breaking €4.34 billion punishment for allegedly putting unlawful limitations on Android smartphones.
The European Commission hopes that the decision will set a precedent for a private damages lawsuit against Google.
“Today’s ruling sends a clear message that Google’s behavior was illegal and provides the market with much-needed legal clarity,” the Commission said in a statement. Google’s “unfair tactics” have impacted millions of European customers, according to the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC).
