Science & Tech · Big Tech & Internet · 1 hr ago
EU Court Adviser Challenges Decision to Cancel Google’s €1.49bn Fine
EU court adviser Juliane Kokott challenged the cancellation of Google’s fine in a non-binding opinion issued on Thursday.
The case concerns AdSense, Google’s service for placing ads on websites, which lets site operators earn money from clicks.
The EU fined Google €1.49 billion in 2019, saying it had restricted rival ads through contract terms between 2006 and 2016.
In 2024, the EU General Court cancelled the fine, saying regulators had not properly assessed the effects of those terms.
Kokott says the lower court set too high a bar for the EU’s assessment and recommends that it review the case again.
Her opinion does not decide the case, though the EU’s top court has often followed such advice.
She also says the lower court should consider that Google changed or removed the terms in 2016, which could justify reducing the fine.
An adviser to the EU Court of Justice has challenged a lower court’s decision to cancel Google’s €1.49 billion fine over its AdSense advertising service.
Advocate General Juliane Kokott said the lower court set too high a standard for assessing the effects of Google’s exclusivity clauses and recommended sending the case back for a fresh review.
She also said the lower court should consider Google’s objections to the fine and reduce it, noting that Google removed or changed the clauses in September 2016.
The adviser’s opinion is not legally binding, but the court’s past judgments have mostly followed such opinions.
The dispute stems from an EU finding that Google restricted rival ads on AdSense from 2006 to 2016.
- Who
- Google and the European Commission are parties to the case. Advocate General Juliane Kokott issued the opinion.
- What
- Kokott challenged the decision to cancel Google’s €1.49 billion fine and recommended that the lower court rehear the case.
- When
- The opinion was issued on November 12, 2026.
- Where
- The case is before the EU Court of Justice, with a proposed rehearing by the EU General Court.
- Why
- The adviser said the General Court set too high a standard for assessing the effects of Google’s exclusivity clauses.
European Commission
Fine
European Commission
The Commission fined Google €1.49 billion in 2019 over restrictions on rival ads through AdSense.
Google appealed the fine.
AdSense restrictions
European Commission
The Commission found that Google used exclusivity clauses from 2006 to 2016 to restrict or bar users from showing competitors’ ads.
Google challenged the fine; the sources do not give further details of its arguments.
Google launched its AdSense advertising service.
The EU found that Google used exclusivity clauses to restrict or prohibit AdSense users from displaying competitors’ ads.
The EU fined Google €1.49 billion over the AdSense practices.
The EU General Court annulled the fine after finding that the EU had not adequately assessed the effects of the clauses.
Advocate General Juliane Kokott recommended that the Court of Justice send the case back to the General Court for a fresh review.
- Fine
- €1.49 billion
- Service
- AdSense, launched in 2003
- EU finding period
- 2006–2016
- Fine imposed
- 2019
- Lower court annulment
- 2024
- Opinion author
- Juliane Kokott, Advocate General