Google AdSense for Search: Fines Always Come in Threes

April 2019

CPI EU News Column edited by Thibault Schrepel, Sam Sadden & Jan Roth (CPI) presents:

Google AdSense for Search: Fines Always Come in Threes By Aurelien Portuese (St Mary’s University Twickenham)1

On June 26, 2017, the European Commission fined Google €2.42 billion for abusing its dominance as a search engine by giving illegal advantage to its own comparison shopping service.2 On July 18, 2018, the European Commission fined Google €4.34 billion for having illegally strengthened the dominance of Google’s search engine via Android mobile devices.3 Thirdly and lastly, on March 20, 2019, the European Commission fined Google €1.49 billion for having illegally imposed restrictive clauses to third-party websites through AdSense for Search.4 Whereas the Commission sent the Statement of Objections simultaneously on July 14, 2016 for both the Google Shopping case and the Google AdSense case, the latter required more time for the Commission to issue the fine for “illegal misuse of its dominant position in the market for the brokering of online search adverts” said Commissioner Margrether Vestager.5

AdSense for Search’s dominance in online search adverts

The Commission investigated the agreements between Google and its partners relating to its online search advertising intermediation programme, AdSense. The Commission found that Google restricted the ability of certain third-party websites, both existing and potential competitors, to display search adv

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