Google Appeals $1.7B EU AdSense Antitrust Fine

Google has filed a legal appeal against the $1.7 billion antitrust penalty the European Commission laid against on its search ad brokering business three months ago. Antitrust officials found that, in contracts with major sites between 2006 and 2016, Google included restrictive contracts that could be seen as it trying to muscle rivals out of the market. The clauses reportedly included exclusivity measures, restrictions on how sites displayed ads from Google's rivals and requirements to give its ads better visibility and more prominent placement.

From a report: Google is appealing both earlier penalties but has also made changes to how it operates Google Shopping and Android in Europe in the meanwhile, to avoid the risk of further punitive penalties. In the case of AdSense, the Commission found that between 2006 and 2016 Google included restrictive clauses in its contracts with major sites that use its ad platform which Commission's current antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager said could only be seen as intending to keep rivals out of the market. Reached for comment, a Commission spokesperson told us: 'The Commission will defend its decision in Court.'

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