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Google Wins Legal Battle Over $1.7 Billion EU Antitrust Fine

Google secured a major legal victory on Wednesday by overturning a €1.49 billion ($1.66 billion) fine imposed by the European Union for antitrust violations, while chipmaker Qualcomm faced a less favorable outcome in its appeal.

The European Commission had originally fined Google in 2019, accusing the tech giant of abusing its market dominance to block websites from using advertising brokers other than its AdSense platform for search ads. The alleged violations took place between 2006 and 2016. However, the EU’s General Court, part of the European Court of Justice, annulled the fine, citing the Commission’s failure to consider all relevant factors.

The court acknowledged some of the Commission’s findings but ruled that it had not sufficiently demonstrated that Google’s actions harmed innovation, reinforced its dominance, or negatively impacted consumers.

In response, Google highlighted that it had already altered its contracts in 2016, before the Commission’s decision, and expressed satisfaction with the court’s ruling, which recognized errors in the initial case. The European Commission, which can appeal the decision, stated it would review the judgment before determining next steps.

This ruling is part of a series of antitrust actions taken against Google by the EU, amounting to a total of €8.25 billion ($9.18 billion) in fines over multiple cases. The AdSense fine was initially triggered by a complaint from Microsoft in 2010.

In contrast, Qualcomm’s appeal to reduce a fine related to predatory pricing practices saw only a minor reduction. The General Court cut its penalty from €242 million to €238.7 million. Qualcomm was fined in 2019 for allegedly selling its chipsets below cost between 2009 and 2011 to undermine British competitor Icera, now owned by Nvidia.

Qualcomm has the option to appeal the decision, but has not yet commented on the outcome.

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