According to reports, Google lost a $163 million antitrust appeal in France today, accused of using its dominant position in the search market to set unfair rules for its online advertising platform.
Back in December 2019, French antitrust authorities announced a 150 million euro ($163 million) fine on Google for unfair competition practices, including using its dominant position in the search market to advertise its ads The platform Google Ads sets unfair terms.
Subsequently, Google appealed. Today, the Paris Court of Appeal rejected Google’s appeal and upheld the original verdict.
In a separate case, the French antitrust agency, the Competition Authority (FCA), also announced last June that it had fined Google 220 million euros ($267 million) for abusing its presence in the online advertising market dominance.
Google has been unfairly sending business to its ad servers and online ad auction houses to the detriment of rivals, the FCA said. The FCA also said the two sides had reached an agreement that Google agreed to pay the fine. It is reported that in addition to Google, the FCA has also launched an investigation into Apple and Meta.