LONDON (AP) — Google lost its last bid to overturn a European Union antitrust penalty, after the bloc's top court ruled against it Tuesday in a case that came with a whopping fine and helped jumpstart an era of intensifying scrutiny for Big Tech companies.
The European Union’s top court rejected Google's appeal against the 2.4 billion euro ($2.7 billion) penalty from the European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s top antitrust enforcer, for violating antitrust rules with its comparison shopping service.
Also Tuesday, Apple lost its challenge against an order to repay 13 billion euros ($14.34 billion) in back taxes to Ireland, after the European Court of Justice issued a separate decision siding with the commission in a case targeting unlawful state aid for global corporations.
Both companies have now exhausted their appeals in the cases that date to the previous decade. Together, the court decisions are a victory for European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who's expected to step down next month after 10 years as the commission's top official overseeing competition.
Experts said the rulings illustrate how watchdogs have been emboldened in the years since the cases were first opened.
One of the takeaways from the Apple decision "is the sense that, again, the EU authorities and courts are prepared to flex their (collective) muscles to bring Big Tech to heel where necessary,” Alex Haffner, a competition partner at law firm Fladgate, said by email.
The Google ruling “reflects the growing confidence with which competition regulators worldwide are tackling the perceived excesses of the Big Tech companies,” said Gareth Mills, partner at law firm Charles Russell Speechlys. The court's willingness “to back the legal rationale and the level of fine will undoubtedly embolden the competition regulators further.”
The shopping fine was one of three huge antitrust penalties for Google from the commission, which punished the Silicon Valley giant in 2017 for unfairly directing visitors to its own Google Shopping service over competitors.
“We are disappointed with the decision of the Court, which relates to a very specific set of facts,” Google said in a brief statement.
The company said it made changes to comply with the commission’s decision requiring it to treat competitors equally. It started holding auctions for shopping search listings that it would bid for alongside other comparison shopping services.
“Our approach has worked successfully for more than seven years, generating billions of clicks for more than 800 comparison shopping services,” Google said.
European consumer group BEUC hailed the court's decision, saying it shows how the bloc's competition law “remains highly relevant" in digital markets.
“It is a good outcome for all European consumers at the end of the day,” Director General Agustín Reyna said in an interview. “It means that many smaller companies or rivals will be able to go to different comparison shopping sites. They don’t need to depend on Google to reach out to customers."
Google is still appealing its two other EU antitrust cases: a 2018 fine of 4.125 billion euros ($4.55 billion) involving its Android operating system and a 2019 penalty of 1.49 billion euros ($1.64 billion) over its AdSense advertising platform.
Those three cases foreshadowed expanded efforts by regulators worldwide to crack down on the tech industry. The EU has since opened more investigations into Big Tech companies and drew up a new law to prevent them from cornering online markets, known as the Digital Markets Act.
European Commissioner and Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said that the shopping case was one of the first attempts to regulate a digital company and inspired similar efforts worldwide.
"The case was symbolic because it demonstrated even the most powerful tech companies could be held accountable. No one is above the law,” Vestager told a press briefing in Brussels.
Vestager said the commission will continue to open competition cases even as it enforces the Digital Markets Act. The DMA is a sweeping rulebook that forces Google and other tech giants to give consumers more choice by following a set of dos and don'ts.
Google is also now facing pressure over its lucrative digital advertising business from the EU and Britain, which are carrying out separate investigations, and the United States, where the Department of Justice is taking the company to federal court over its alleged dominance in ad tech.
Apple failed in its last bid to avoid repaying its Irish taxes Tuesday after the Court of Justice upheld a lower court ruling against the company, in the dispute that dates back to 2016.
Vestager, who said she had been braced for defeat, hailed it as a landmark victory for “tax justice.”
It was a surprise win for the commission, which has previously targeted Amazon, Starbucks and Fiat with tax rulings that were later overturned on appeal. They were part of the EU's efforts to stamp out sweetheart deals that let companies pay little to no taxes in a fight that highlighted the debate over whether multinational corporations are paying their fair share around the world.
The case drew outrage from Apple, with CEO Tim Cook calling it “total political crap.” Then-U.S. President Donald Trump slammed Vestager, who spearheaded the campaign to root out special tax deals and crack down on big U.S. tech companies, as the “tax lady” who “really hates the U.S.”
Associated Press writers Raf Casert and Mark Carlson in Brussels contributed to this report.
FILE - In this April 17, 2007 file photo, exhibitors work on laptop computers in front of an illuminated sign of the Google logo at the industrial fair Hannover Messe in Hanover, Germany. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer, File)
FILE - A sign at Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. is shown on Oct. 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
Google loses final EU court appeal against 2.4 billion euro fine in antitrust shopping case
Google loses final EU court appeal against 2.4 billion euro fine in antitrust shopping case
NUUK, Greenland (AP) — Polls opened in Greenland for early parliamentary elections Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks control of the strategic Arctic island.
The self-governing region of Denmark is home to 56,000 people, most from Indigenous Inuit backgrounds, and occupies a strategic North Atlantic location. It also contains rare earth minerals key to driving the global economy.
Unofficial election results should be available soon after polls close at 2200 GMT Tuesday, but they won’t be certified for weeks as ballot papers make their way to the capital from remote settlements by boat, plane and helicopter.
While the island has been on a path toward independence since at least 2009, a break from Denmark isn’t on the ballot even though it’s on everyone’s mind. Voters on Tuesday will instead elect 31 lawmakers who will shape the island’s debate on when and if to declare independence in the future.
The single polling station in Greenland ’s capital city, Nuuk, is ready.
This big Arctic island with a tiny population holds early parliamentary elections Tuesday that are being closely watched. U.S. President Donald Trump has made clear he wants to take control of the region that occupies a strategic North Atlantic location and contains rare earth minerals key to driving the global economy.
Now, Greenlanders are debating the best way to ensure they control their future.
“I think most of us have been scared since the new year because of (Trump’s) interest,” Pipaluk Lynge, a member of parliament from the ruling Inuit Ataqatigiit, or United Inuit party, told The Associated Press. “So we’re really, really looking to Europe right now to see if we could establish a stronger bond with them to secure our sovereign nation.”
Opinion polls show most Greenlanders favor independence.
Most say they don’t dislike Americans, pointing to the good relations they have with the local Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Force Base, where U.S. military personnel have been stationed since 1951.
But Greenlanders show no sign of wanting to become Americans. Even some of Trump’s biggest fans cling to the principle that they should control their destiny. That includes Gerth Josefsen, a 53-year-old fisherman from Nuuk who sports a MAGA hat and is proud to have visited Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida home.
Their mantra is that Greenland is open for business, but not for sale.
“The situation has changed because of Trump and because of the world,” said Doris Jensen, representative of the social democratic Siumut party who said she has always favored independence, “So we have decided in our party that we have to do (it) more quickly.”
Trump’s attention has transformed the deeply local process of democracy. Suddenly, the presence of journalists from as far away as Japan and Croatia are reminders that these are far from normal times.
After candidates’ final televised debate at a school auditorium in Nuuk, Prime Minister Mute Bourup Egede was greeted by about 75 supporters who were almost outnumbered by photographers and cameramen.
“All these reporters are frightening to us,’’ said Aviaja Sinkbaek, who works at the school. “It means that something must be happening soon.”
She added: “I wonder what Trump has up his sleeve.”
Politics in Greenland have a different rhythm. Debates during campaigning rarely got heated. People who became too animated were asked to step outside. Issues included building a skilled workforce and how to decorate the new airport, which opened a runway long enough to handle jumbo jets in November.
On Tuesday, the capital’s lone polling station at the Nuuk sports hall will have political parties pitching tents outside, with campaigners offering hot drinks and Greenlandic cake -- a raisin-laced bread served with butter -- in hopes of swaying voters.
A bus will circle the city of about 20,000 people, offering rides.
Certifying results will take weeks as ballot papers make their way to Nuuk. That’s because there are no roads connecting communities across the island’s 2.16 million square kilometers (836,330 square miles), which make Greenland the world’s 12th biggest country.
Now the vast size has drawn outsize attention.
Greenlanders know what they have. They hope the rare earth minerals will help diversify an economy where government jobs account for 40% of employment.
But the government has imposed strict rules to protect the environment on the island, most of which is covered by ice year-round. The harsh atmospheric conditions raise questions about whether extracting them is commercially feasible.
Hurricane-strength gusts over the weekend triggered warnings for boats and building materials to be securely tied down. As the wind howled like a revving jet engine, local people retreated to their homes to play board games.
People vote during an early voting for Greenlandic parliamentary elections at the city hall in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
A woman votes during an early voting for Greenlandic parliamentary elections at the city hall in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
A woman carries her ballot during an early voting for Greenlandic parliamentary elections at the city hall in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
People vote during an early voting for Greenlandic parliamentary elections at the city hall in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
People stay in line to receive their ballots during an early voting for Greenlandic parliamentary elections at the city hall in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
People vote during an early voting for Greenlandic parliamentary elections at the city hall in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
A man installs a political placard for the upcoming elections in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Carl Fleischer, 59, receives his ballot during an early voting for Greenlandic parliamentary elections at the city hall in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Carl Fleischer, 59, votes during early voting for Greenlandic parliamentary elections at the city hall in Nuuk, Monday, Greenland, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Carl Fleischer, 59, votes during early voting for Greenlandic parliamentary elections at the city hall in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
A woman reads her ballot during an early voting for Greenlandic parliamentary elections at the city hall in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
