Google urges EU top court to back ruling scrapping $1.7 billion antitrust fine

By Foo Yun Chee

LUXEMBOURG, July 15 (Reuters) - Alphabet unit Google on Wednesday urged Europe's top court to dismiss EU antitrust regulators' appeal against a lower court ruling that scrapped a €1.49 billion ($1.7 billion) fine, saying the regulators' arguments were flawed.

The dispute reached the Court of Justice of the European Union after regulators appealed a 2024 General Court ruling that annulled the fine imposed on Google in 2019. The lower court cited errors in the European Commission's assessment of the case.

The Commission, the EU's competition watchdog, said Google used restrictive clauses in contracts with publishers that prevented rivals from placing search advertisements on the publishers' websites, reinforcing Google's dominance in online search advertising.

The Commission said the practices ran from 2006 to 2016. Google, whose AdSense platform provides search advertising, removed the contested clauses from publisher agreements in 2016.

Google's lawyer, Josh Holmes, rejected the Commission's arguments.

"The Commission's new arguments are flawed. The General Court's reasons are clear and complete," he told the panel of five judges.

Holmes said the Commission had ignored evidence showing Google's rivals had substantial opportunities to compete.

Commission lawyer Anthony Dawes criticised the lower court's ruling, saying it imposed an unprecedented obligation on regulators to analyse issues already settled by case law.

"This finding turns case law on its head," he said, adding that the lower court's reasoning would effectively treat exclusive clauses as lawful by default.

A court adviser is due to issue a non-binding opinion on November 12, with a final ruling expected in the following months.

The AdSense fine was one of four EU antitrust penalties that have cost Google €9.5 billion during its nearly two-decade dispute with the Commission. The lower court's decision to annul the fine marked a rare legal setback for the EU watchdog.

The case is C-826/24 P Commission v Google and Alphabet (Google AdSense)

($1 = 0.8771 euros)

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee. Editing by Mark Potter)