Google AdSense for Search: EU General Court Judgment in Case T-334/19 Google and Alphabet v Commission

Wednesday 18th September 2024

EU General Court Judgment in Case T-334/19 Google and Alphabet v Commission (Google AdSense for Search)

(Competition – Dominant position)

Google and its parent company Alphabet (referred to as ‘Google’) have operated an advertising platform called AdSense since 2003. Google has developed various services in this respect, including, in particular, an advertising intermediation service for online searches called AdSense for Search (‘AFS’).

AFS enabled website publishers to display advertisements linked to online searches that users could perform on websites containing an integrated search engine (‘online search ads’). That way publishers could receive part of the revenue generated by the display of these advertisements.

To use AFS, publishers had the choice of either entering into an individually negotiated ‘Google Services Agreement’ (‘GSA’) with Google or a standard non-negotiable ‘online contract’.

In 2010, a German company filed a complaint with the German Federal Cartel Office. This complaint was transferred to the European Commission. Between 2011 and 2016, Microsoft, Expedia, Initiative for a Competitive Online Marketplace and Deutsche Telekom filed additional complaints.

In 2016, the Commission opened proceedings focusing on exclusivity, placement and prior authorisation clauses. It identified a potential abuse of a dominant position. In September 2016, Google removed certain clauses from its AFS agreements.

In March 2019, the Commission found that Google and, from October 2, 2015, Alphabet had committed three separate infringements which together constituted a single and continuous infringement from January 2006 to September 2016. It imposed a fine of €1,494,459,000 on Google, including €130,135,475 jointly and severally with Alphabet (Commission’s decision of 20 March 2019 relating to a proceeding under Article 102 TFEU and Article 54 of the EEA Agreement (AT.40411 — Google Search (AdSense) – see summary).

Google asked the General Court to annul (in whole or in part) the mentioned Commission’s decision and/or to annul or reduce the fine imposed.

Background Documents T-334/19

Mittwoch, 18. September 2024

Urteil des Gerichts in der Rechtssache T‑334/19 Google und Alphabet / Kommission (Google AdSense for Search)

Missbrauch beherrschender Stellung auf dem Markt der Online-Werbung

Mit Beschluss vom 20. März 2019 („Google Search [AdSense]“) verhängte die Kommission gegen Google eine Geldbuße in Höhe von 1,49 Mrd. Euro wegen Missbrauchs einer beherrschenden Stellung auf dem Markt der Online-Werbung (siehe Pressemitteilung der Kommission IP/19/1770).

Google und Alphabet haben diesen Beschluss vor dem Gericht der EU angefochten, das heute sein Urteil verkündet.

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