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‘CJEU should confirm fine on Google’

An advocate general at the EU’s highest court has said that it should confirm a fine of €2.4 billion imposed by the European Commission on Google.

The commission had found that the technology giant was using its dominance of the search-engine market to boost its own comparison-shopping service.

The fine was upheld by the EU’s General Court, but the company appealed the decision to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

‘Unreasonable conditions’

In an opinion published today (11 January), Juliane Kokott said that the CJEU should dismiss Google’s appeal and confirm the fine.

“The self-preferencing of which Google is accused constitutes an independent form of abuse through the application of unreasonable conditions of access to competing comparison shopping services,” she stated.

The opinion of an advocate general is not binding on the court, which will give its final decision at a later date.