Google Wins Challenge Against 1.49 Bln Euro EU Antitrust Fine 

12 May 2023, US, Mountain View: The Google logo can be seen on a building at the company's headquarters. (dpa)
12 May 2023, US, Mountain View: The Google logo can be seen on a building at the company's headquarters. (dpa)
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Google Wins Challenge Against 1.49 Bln Euro EU Antitrust Fine 

12 May 2023, US, Mountain View: The Google logo can be seen on a building at the company's headquarters. (dpa)
12 May 2023, US, Mountain View: The Google logo can be seen on a building at the company's headquarters. (dpa)

Alphabet unit Google won its challenge on Wednesday against a 1.49 billion euro ($1.66 billion) antitrust fine imposed five years ago for hindering rivals in online search advertising, a week after it lost a much bigger case.

The European Commission in its 2019 decision said Google had abused its dominance to prevent websites from using brokers other than its AdSense platform that provided search adverts. The practices it said were illegal took place from 2006 to 2016.

The Luxembourg-based General Court mostly agreed with the European Union competition enforcer's assessments of the case, but annulled the fine.

"The court (...) upheld most of the commission's assessments, but annulled the decision imposing a fine of almost 1.5 billion euros on Google, on the grounds in particular that it had failed to take into account all the relevant circumstances in its assessment of the duration of the contractual clauses that it had found to be unfair," the judges said.

The AdSense fine, one of a trio of fines that have cost Google a total of 8.25 billion euros, was triggered by a complaint from Microsoft in 2010.

Google has said it changed the targeted contracts in 2016 before the Commission's decision.

The company last week lost its final fight against a 2.42 billion euro fine levied for using its price comparison shopping service to gain an unfair advantage over smaller European rivals.



Elon Musk's X Is Back in Brazil after Its Suspension, Having Complied with All Judicial Demands

Photo illustration of the logo of the social media platform X (former Twitter) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 30, 2024. (AFP)
Photo illustration of the logo of the social media platform X (former Twitter) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 30, 2024. (AFP)
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Elon Musk's X Is Back in Brazil after Its Suspension, Having Complied with All Judicial Demands

Photo illustration of the logo of the social media platform X (former Twitter) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 30, 2024. (AFP)
Photo illustration of the logo of the social media platform X (former Twitter) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 30, 2024. (AFP)

Social media platform X began returning to Brazil on Wednesday, after remaining inaccessible for more than a month following a clash between its owner, Elon Musk, and a justice on the country’s highest court.

Internet service providers began restoring access to the platform after Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes authorized lifting X’s suspension on Tuesday.

De Moraes ordered the shutdown of X on Aug. 30 after a monthslong dispute with Musk over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation.

Musk had disparaged de Moraes, calling him an authoritarian and a censor, although his rulings, including X’s nationwide suspension, were repeatedly upheld by his peers.

Musk’s company ultimately complied with all of de Moraes’ demands. They included blocking certain accounts from the platform, paying outstanding fines and naming a legal representative. Failure to do the latter had triggered the suspension.

Brazil — a highly online country of 213 million people — is one of X’s biggest markets, with estimates of its user base ranging from 20 million to 40 million.