The Internet giant Google has appealed to have the European Commission's decision of 27 June, ordering the American company to pay a record fine of €2.42 billion for abuse of dominant position, cancelled (see EUROPE 11817), a communications officer of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) told AFP on Monday 11 September.
The reports have been confirmed by the company. The Commission accuses Google of giving its own price comparison service top ranking in its search results and downgrading its competitors, which the Commission argues constitutes an abuse of dominant position and therefore a breach of EU law. The General Court of the EU (EGC), the body of first instance for appeals against acts of the institutions of the EU, must therefore return its verdict on whether the Commission decision is justified.
There are a further two decisions of the institution against the American company. Margrethe Vestager, the Commissioner for Competition, announced on 27 June that she had noted a breach of the European rules on Google's part over its practices, also considered an abuse of dominant position, concerning the operating system Android (see EUROPE 11536) and its AdSense advertising arm. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)