Case highlight - Google Shopping

𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐬 €𝟐.𝟒 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞

In 2017, the EU Commission decided that Google had abused its dominant position by favouring its own comparison shopping services and by demoting competing shopping pages on Google’s search engine. The General Court upheld the decision in 2021 and the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice now does the same on appeal.

𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 after a first reading of the judgement:

• The strict case-law relating to refusal to supply as an abuse of dominance applies only to explicit refusals to supply and not to other practices that constitute an independent form of levering abuse, such as the discriminatory positioning and display practices applied by Google.
• Self-preferencing by a dominant undertaking does not necessarily constitute an abuse of a dominant position. It can be however if it, in the specific circumstances, falls outside the scope of competition on the merits.
• The Commission cannot rely on presumptions and must instead show that a practice has actual or potential anti-competitive effects, taking into account all the relevant factual circumstances. This does not always mean that it must demonstrate that the conduct is capable of excluding an as-efficient competitor as this may not always be possible or relevant.
• The Commission must demonstrate the causal link between the practice and the effects. The Commission may in this respect rely on correlations complemented by additional information such as the assessments of market participants, their suppliers, their customers or professional or consumer associations.
• Google’s record fine of 2.42 billion euros is upheld.

𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨?
Read the judgement (Case C 48/22 P) 🖹 

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