The EU court will hear the lawsuit filed by the group against a billion-dollar fine. The search engine should preferably have their own offerings.
Google Logo: Powerful Internet giant is arguing with the EU Commission about penalties photo: Arnd Wiegmann
KARLSRUHE is in need of taz | Miss Google its market power as the leading search engine? In addition the EU court of first instance (CFI), the negotiations in Luxembourg. Google offered since 2004 a price comparison service under the name Froogle, as of 2009, he was Product Search, since 2013, Google Shopping. He competes with other comparison sites like idealo.de or billiger.de. The EU Commission has imposed in the summer of 2017 against Google, a fine in the amount of 2.42 billion euros.
The allegation: Google is abusing its dominant position in the market, to prefer to the own price comparison service over the competitors. References to the own service would be placed in a special Box above search results. In addition, these instructions due to photos and additional product information are also more striking than the lines of the competition in the hit list.
According to the EU Commission miss Google took this way its market power from 2008 onwards, because of the own service could not initially prevail. In the subsequent period, the access to the Google-comparison service in Germany grew by 35 times. That this was no accident, but a perfidious strategy of the EU Commission on the basis of internal E-to prove emails from Google managers.
Google appealed against the ban and the fine, the EU Commission’s action has no suspensive effect. The allegations of the Commission were disputed by Google flatly. Google was just trying to provide better results for its search engine customers. It was never passed to the control of Traffic to your own offer.
The EU court from Wednesday to Friday about Google’s lawsuit against the EU Commission. The Commission is supported by nine parties, including the German associations of newspaper and magazine publishers. Also Germany is involved – as the only EU-state in the process. Google has no supporters. A judgment is expected towards the end of the year.
Even if the process is out in the country because the supporters are a bit English-heavy, so the Commission charge applies against Google but in large parts of the EU. In 13 States, Google will have its market power is abused anywhere, where Google Shopping is a national offer, present.
2018 and 2019, the EU has imposed Commission a further two billion in fines against Google. 4,34 billion Euro had to pay Google because of Android mobile operating systems the own search engine was preferred. In addition, Google will have to pay 1.49 billion euros, because it needed its dominant position in Online advertising, to the detriment of competitors miss. Against both fines, Google has sued the court of first instance, but has set no hearing dates.
