EU: The Google Fine: Report: Google to appeal $2.7 billion EU fine

Google Fined by EU for abuse of market position in shopping searches

According to The Telegraph, Google is planning to file an appeal against the roughly $2.7 billion (€2.4 billion) antitrust fine imposed by the European Commission in June for abuse of market position in shopping search. The fine was the largest in EU history; the previous record fine was $1.3 billion against Intel.

Last week, Intel won a rare partial victory against EU antitrust regulators when the European Court of Justice instructed a lower court to re-examine its decision and take a closer look at the underlying facts and market impact of Intel’s behavior.

It’s not clear whether last week’s decision impacted Google’s thinking on whether or not to appeal (Google’s decision was likely made before last week). Though it will likely be in process for several years, an appeal makes sense because the company faces potential similar fines and demands for change around other types of “vertical search” results such as maps/local, travel and other categories.

Google is required to submit proposals for changes in its search results to bring them into compliance with EU rules. Google reportedly submitted its plan last month. It will be compelled to make those changes and live within them during the appeal process.

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