Google challenges EU Commission’s $2.6 billion fine in Europe’s General Court

In its statement on Friday, Google attacked the $2.6 billion fine from the EU antitrust enforcers calling its deterrent multiplier as unwarranted and excessive. Google is awaiting two other hearings in its battle against the EU antitrust enforcers in the upcoming months.

In total, EU regulators have imposed three penalties on Google which amount to 8.25 bill Euros. Google’s aforementioned challenge came on the third and final day of the hearing at Europe’s second-highest, General Court. With the legal battle, Google is seeking to overturn the penalties.

Google’s Lawyer Says $2.6 Billion Is An Eye-Catching Amount

Google’s lawyer, Christopher Thomas, called the 2.4 billion euros fine “eye-catching” in the court proceeding. He further commented that while it may make the headlines, the fine is not justified and in line with the facts of Google’s case.

According to Thomas, the fine should not have been imposed in the first place since it is evident that Google’s behavior was in line with the competition laws. Infringement was reported in 13 countries but the size of the multiplier was not proportionate to it.

A 5 to 20 percent gravity multiplier on Google’s 2016 turnover was used by the EU commission in Google’s case that was reported significantly higher than the 5% multiplier that was imposed on Intel in a similar case in 2009. EU regulators are permitted to levy an up to 30% multiplier as per the current laws.

Thomas also commented in the court:

“Credit should be given for Google’s good faith attempts to find a solution to the Commission’s concerns with its three commitments offers and the almost 9 months engineering effort spent building that solution provisionally agreed with the Commission.”

Judge Says The Fine Is Negligible For A Company As Big As Google

Google’s case was heard by five judges with Colm Mac Eochaidh, an Irish Judge, reiterating that Google’s infraction is evident and that the fine may be eye-catching but is still negligible for a company as big as Google.

Anthony Dawes, the Commission’s lawyer also commented on the hearing and highlighted that the Commission stuck to the laws while calculating the imposed fine on Google. The General Court is expected to announce a ruling on Google’s case in 2021. The ruling will only be appealable in Europe’s highest, Court of Justice. At the time of writing, Google’s parent company, Alphabet is trading at $1,519 in the stock market that marks an over 10% gain in 2020 so far.