EU Court Upholds Antitrust Ruling Against Google

Facts

• On Wednesday, a top European court rejected an appeal from Google for a ruling that found the tech giant broke competition rules. However, the judges did reduce the fine issued by antitrust regulators for the violations from 4.34B euros to 4.125B euros ($4.13B).
• The ruling is a major setback for the company, which was found to have reduced consumer choice through its dominance of the company's mobile Android operating system.
• The European General Court - based in Luxembourg - stated that it "largely confirms" the decision of the European Commission to penalize Google. The company's defense claimed that the case rested on false accusations that it imposes its search engine and Chrome browser on android phones.
• The EU has garnered a reputation for strict regulation on big tech in recent years, and has even pledged to take aggressive action against anticompetitive practices.
• When the fine, issued in 2018, was first imposed, it was the largest Google had ever faced. However, Google has now also faced fines totaling 3.91B euros from other antitrust violations.
• Google is still able to appeal the decision in the EU's highest court.

Sources: Reuters, ABC, Al Jazeera, New York Times, and NBC.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Daily Wire. Europe is once again meddling in the free market success of American companies by imposing this fine. Google has worked to bring transparency to programmatic advertising and to help advertisers reach customers, but their triumph in the market is being deliberately targeted.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by The Telegraph. Big tech isn't being unfairly targeted for its success just so European regulators can edge in their own companies - the sector is using amoral and cynical tactics to sit on a pile of ever-growing gold at the cost of true competition. Companies like Google must remember that laissez-faire isn't synonymous with monopolistic business practices.