Google has suffered a legal setback after an adviser to the European Union's top court recommended reinstating proceedings against the technology company over a €1.49 billion (US$1.7 billion) antitrust fine imposed for restricting competition in online search advertising.
European Court of Justice Advocate General Juliane Kokott issued the opinion on Thursday, November 12, 2026, backing the European Commission's appeal against a 2024 ruling that had overturned the penalty imposed on Google and its parent company, Alphabet.
The original fine was issued in March 2019 after the European Commission found that Google had abused its dominant position through restrictive clauses in contracts with publishers using its AdSense for Search advertising platform.
The clauses, which were applied between 2006 and 2016, limited or prevented publishers from displaying advertisements from competing search advertising services on their websites. The Commission argued that the restrictions reduced competitors' opportunities to reach online audiences and reinforced Google's market dominance.
Google removed or amended the disputed contractual provisions in 2016 after the Commission raised concerns about their impact on competition.
However, in September 2024, the EU General Court annulled the fine, finding that the Commission had not adequately assessed important circumstances, particularly the duration of the contractual restrictions and their effects on competition.
The European Commission subsequently appealed the decision, arguing that the lower court had applied an excessively demanding standard when examining the evidence of Google's conduct.
In her opinion, Kokott said the General Court had made legal errors in assessing the duration of the practices and their exclusionary effects. She recommended that the ruling overturning the fine be set aside and the case returned to the lower court for a fresh judgment.
The opinion is not legally binding, meaning Google will not automatically be required to pay the fine following Thursday's development. The Court of Justice of the European Union is expected to deliver its final ruling in 2027.
The case adds to years of European regulatory scrutiny of Google's advertising business, with the outcome potentially influencing how dominant technology companies negotiate commercial agreements with publishers and competing advertising providers.
