Google just dodged a massive EU antitrust fine

Google is no stranger to finding itself stuck with a hefty fine. Over the years, the tech giant has faced off against courts and regulators time and time again, often ending up having to pay one serious bill. We recently went back and looked at just how much the company has been forced to pay out over the past decade, totaling over $11 billion — and that’s before inflation. In light of all that, we’re sure Google must be feeling very happy about this latest news, as the company manages to dodge a €1.49 billion antitrust fine in the EU.

This particular fine stems from a 2019 European Commission ruling — the third entry on our list — and much like the current legal struggle it’s facing with the DOJ in the US, this one concerned online advertising. The EC accused Google of using its dominant market position to illegally limit competition.

Now the European General Court has ruled in favor of Google’s appeal, and while it doesn’t clear Google of wrongdoing in this matter, Reuters reports that it quashed the fine because the EC “had failed to take into account all the relevant circumstances” when assessing it.

That gives Google a little breathing room for the moment, but it’s not necessarily the end of this particular fight — the European Commission has the option to itself appeal, but right now has yet to commit to any further action.

In separate but thematically related news, Qualcomm has been working to appeal its own bill stemming from accusations of anticompetitive conduct in Europe, culminating in a €242 million fine. It sounds like that team could have used a little help from Google’s lawyers, as while the General Court did ultimately reduce the company’s fine, it only did so to the tune of €3.3 million, still leaving it with hundreds of millions to pay.