Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., has slammed the European Union for imposing a “quasi-criminal penalties of enormous proportions” for allegedly thwarting advertising competitors on websites.
The tech giant is trying to overturn the last of 3 multibillion-euro antitrust fines at a hearing in the Luxembourg tribunal.
The search giant argued the EU’s antitrust arm’s decision to impose the 1.49 billion-euro ($1.6 billion) punishment in 2019 was plagued with mistakes and should be overturned during a hearing at the bloc’s General Court on Monday.
“Google’s ultra-dominant position in general search” meant that it would always be well placed to operate on the European market for search advertising, Nicholas Khan, a lawyer for the commission, told the court.
Antitrust regulators in the EU and the United Kingdom have launched a fresh investigation into suspected cooperation between Google and Meta Platforms Inc. in the way they manage online display advertising services.
The hearing is scheduled to go through Wednesday. The Commission’s market definition research, as well as Google’s exclusivity restrictions, will be addressed.
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