Despite its lack of success with a 2021 appeal, Google has once again sought to have its $2.6 billion fine overturned by arguing the EU has failed to prove its case. Credit: European Commission Google has once again sought to overturn a €2.4 billion ($2.6 billlion) fine imposed by the European Union in 2017 after it found the company had violated antitrust rules by using its dominant position in the search engine market to illegally promote its comparison shopping service. Google originally appealed the fine the ruling in the General Court — the EU’s lower court — in 2021, but the decision was upheld. The company has now again sought to challenge the fine, this time in Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), arguing that the EU had failed to demonstrate how its practices were anticompetitive. “Companies do not compete by treating competitors equally with themselves,” said Thomas Graf, a lawyer for Google, according to a report by Bloomberg. “The whole point of competition is for a company to differentiate itself from rivals. Not to align with rivals so that all are the same.” CJEU Advocate General Juliane Kokott said she would issue her non-binding opinion on January 11, with the CJEU set to rule in the months following her recommendation. The original 2017 ruling against Google was the first of three penalties handed out to the company for anticompetitive practice in the EU. In total, fines levied against the company have totaled €8.25 billion in the last decade. The other cases for which Google was found to be in breach of EU regulations were related to its Android mobile operating system — in which Google lost an appeal last year — and its AdSense advertising service. As a result of the AdSense case, regulators earlier this year issued a threat that they would try to break up the company if Google did not attempt to regulate its behavior. Google’s ongoing antitrust woes in the US Last week, Google found itself in court on the other side of the pond, defending itself against the first of two major lawsuits brought forward by the US government. In these cases, the government alleges that Google has illegally used its dominance in search to quash competition, to the detriment of the public at large. The case that opened last week is targeted at Google’s search business, with a second trial against the tech giant, focusing on advertising, scheduled for next year. “This case is about the future of the internet, whether the Google search engine will ever face meaningful competition to protect that future,” said Kenneth Dintzer, deputy director in the DOJ’s civil division, during opening arguments last week in the search case. The trial is expected to last 10 weeks. Related content news analysis AI chip shortages continue, but there may be an end in sight While GPUs are in high demand, they still need high-performance memory chips for AI apps. The market is tight for both — for now. By Lucas Mearian May 07, 2024 7 mins CPUs and Processors Generative AI Technology Industry feature Windows 11 Insider Previews: What’s in the latest build? Get the latest info on new preview builds of Windows 11 as they roll out to Windows Insiders. Now updated for Build 22635.3570 for the Beta Channel and Build 26120.461 for the Dev channel, both released on May 3, 2024. By Preston Gralla May 07, 2024 252 mins Small and Medium Business Microsoft Windows 11 news analysis 3+ reasons Apple might want to make its own server chips Apple reportedly has a top secret plan to make AI chips for servers to provide generative AI services. By Jonny Evans May 07, 2024 5 mins Apple CPUs and Processors Generative AI opinion GenAI is to data visibility what absolute zero is to a hot summer day Given the plethora of privacy rules already in place in Europe, how are companies with shiny, new, not-understood genAI tools supposed to comply? (Hint: they can’t.) By Evan Schuman May 06, 2024 6 mins Data Privacy GDPR Generative AI Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe