EU court scraps 1.5-bn euro fine against Google [Video]

An EU court on Wednesday scrapped a 1.49-billion euro ($1.65 billion) fine imposed by Brussels against Google for an abuse of dominance over online advertising.

“The General Court annuls the (European) Commission’s decision in its entirety,” the Luxembourg-based court said in a statement, adding that the “institution committed errors in its assessment”.

Brussels “failed to take into consideration all the relevant circumstances in its assessment of the duration of the contract clauses that the commission had deemed abusive”, the court said.

The commission, the EU’s influential competition regulator, said it “takes note” and would “carefully study the judgment and reflect on possible next steps” — which could include an appeal.

The ruling will be a relief for Google after the EU’s highest court last week upheld a 2017 fine worth 2.42 billion euros for abusing its dominance by favouring its own comparison shopping service.

As part of a major push …