The General Court of the European Union rejected Google's appeal and upheld a $2.8 billion fine against the company, originally hit in 2017 for favoring its own content in search results. shopping search. Separately, the UK Supreme Court ruled in Google's favor in a 2017 class action lawsuit, in which the company was accused of illegally collecting data about iPhone users.
The Common Court of the European Union upheld the $2.8 billion fine. In 2017, the European Commission imposed the largest antitrust penalty in its history up to that point — 2.4 billion euros ($2.8 billion) — against Google for allegedly favoring its own comparison shopping service . Google appealed the fine but on Wednesday the General Court of the European Union upheld the 2017 European Commission decision, stating, “The General Court concluded its analysis by finding that The amount of the advance fine against Google must be confirmed. ”
“The General Court found that, by prioritizing its own comparison shopping service over its general results pages through more favorable impressions and positioning, and excluding results from other comparing competition within those pages by ranking algorithms, Google has left the competition on value,” the Court said in a press release.
Google may file another appeal with the EU's highest court, the European Court of Justice, but the company has yet to say what action it intends to pursue.
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom dismissed the case over the allegation of tracking iPhone users. Although Google lost its case in the European Union, the UK Supreme Court ruled in its favor in a class action lawsuit also dating back to 2017. The lawsuit claims that Google dropped out. over the privacy settings of 4.4 million iPhone users in the UK between 2011 and 2012. Plaintiff, Richard Lloyd, former head of consumer rights group. The damage could cost Google up to three billion pounds.
“The claimant seeks damages… for each individual member of the class represented without attempting to demonstrate that Google has misused any personal data relating to that individual or individuals. suffer any material damage or suffering as a result of the breach,” the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom said in its ruling. mine .
Why do we care. In the European Union, the General Court ruling could strengthen the European Commission's drive to regulate big tech, which doesn't work well for other platforms – like Amazon , Apple and Facebook – is also currently under investigation. This also adds impetus to the Digital Markets Act recommended , this act threatens to end the self-engagement feature in app search results. Alternatively, tighter regulations could ultimately benefit Google's competitors in the shopping industry.
Google will suffer another significant blow if the UK Supreme Court rules against it, as the decision could pave the way for more class-action lawsuits. In the UK, such lawsuits now require people to opt-in, which could draw out the process. This also has implications for other platforms, such as TikTok, which are suffering from Facts about the use of children's data .
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