• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, September 11, 2024

Google lost its latest bid to overturn a European Union (EU) antitrust penalty after the top court upheld a decision by a lower court on Tuesday.

The ruling against Google came with $2.7 billion (2.4 billion euro) in fines initially imposed in 2017.

The EU said Google had favored its own price-comparison service in search results, putting competitors at a disadvantage.

“By today’s judgment, the Court of Justice dismisses the appeal and thus upholds the judgment of the General Court,” the court said in a press release.

Google made changes in 2017 to comply with the EU’s decision, but this outcome could lead to changes in the way Google shares data. 

“Our approach has worked successfully for more than seven years, generating billions of clicks for more than 800 comparison shopping services,” a Google spokesperson told CNBC.

“It is a good outcome for all European consumers at the end of the day,” Director General Agustín Reyna said in an interview, the AP reported. “It means that many smaller companies or rivals will be able to go to different comparison shopping sites. They don’t need to depend on Google to reach out to customers."

Apple also lost its challenge against an order to repay $14.34 billion (13 billion euros) in back taxes to Ireland in what is seen as a finale dispute with the EU centered on deals Dublin had offered multinational businesses to attract them to the country.

The European Court of Justice issued a decision that sided with the commission in a case targeting unlawful state aid for global corporations.

“Today is a big win for European citizens and for tax justice,” said European antitrust Commissioner Margrethe Vestager. The outcome took eight years.