Google Fights to Overturn $1.7 Billion Antitrust Fine at EU's Highest Court
N.R. Finch
Google urged the EU's top court on July 15 to uphold the annulment of a €1.49 billion AdSense antitrust fine — a ruling that will define the bloc's power to police Big Tech advertising contracts.
Where did this fine come from?
In 2019 the European Commission ruled that Google used restrictive clauses in AdSense publisher contracts from 2006 to 2016, blocking rivals from placing search ads on those sites.
This means → Google was accused of using contracts to lock competitors out of publisher ad slots.
The €1.49 billion (≈$1.7 billion) penalty is one of four fines the Commission has levied on Google over nearly two decades, totaling €9.5 billion.
Google removed the clauses voluntarily in 2016, but the Commission still imposed the retroactive penalty.
Why did the lower court side with Google?
In 2024 the EU General Court annulled the fine, finding that the Commission made errors in its assessment.
In plain terms = the court said the regulator's own homework was flawed and the fine could not stand.
The annulment was a rare legal setback for EU competition enforcers, who seldom lose against Big Tech in court.
The Commission appealed, sending the case to the Court of Justice — the EU's highest court.
What did the lawyers argue?
Google's counsel Josh Holmes told a five-judge panel that "the Commission's new arguments are flawed" and that regulators ignored evidence showing rivals had ample opportunity to compete.
Commission lawyer Anthony Dawes countered that the lower court imposed "unprecedented obligations" on the regulator.
He warned that upholding the General Court's reasoning would effectively make exclusivity clauses legal by default.
This means → the dispute goes beyond a single fine — it will determine whether the EU can apply the same logic to police tech-platform ad contracts in the future.
What happens next?
A court adviser is expected to issue a non-binding opinion on November 12; the final ruling will follow months later.
This reflects a case that has outgrown a billing dispute — it will directly test the regulatory boundary the EU can draw around Big Tech advertising practices.
If the top court upholds the annulment, it will open a material crack in the EU's nearly two-decade, €9.5 billion antitrust campaign against Google.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.