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Search engine powerhouse Google received a big blow to its deep pockets on Tuesday as the European Union's Court of Justice upheld a decision to penalize the company 2.4 billion euro ($2.7 billion) in a long-running antitrust case. 

Seven years ago, Google was ruled to have been handing its own shopping recommendations an illegal advantage over rivals in search engine results, and the Court of Justice rejected a final appeal against the fine from the European Commission this week.

“By today’s judgment, the Court of Justice dismisses the appeal and thus upholds the judgment of the General Court,” the court announced.

The European Commission made the original move as far back as 2017, accusing Google of directing visitors to its own Google Shopping clients, with competitors unfairly suffering. 

Google altered its stance to comply with the decision and treat competitors equally and appealed the decision to the courts. The EU General Court rejected this in 2021, with Tuesday's ruling by the Court of Justice closing the company's last avenue of appeal.

Shopping comparison site Kelkoo described the final ruling as “a win for fair competition and consumer choice.” 

Google is also legally challenging two more EU antitrust punishments concerning its Android mobile operating system (4.125 billion euro) and AdSense advertising platform (1.49 billion euro).

These cases are part of a global move by regulators and courts to rein in technology industry giants, with the EU opening more investigations and introducing laws to regulate social media and artificial intelligence (AI).

The legal wrangles will continue for Google for some time to come as, in an ongoing federal antitrust trial in the United States, the Department of Justice alleges Google holds a monopoly in the “ad tech” industry, while regulators in the United Kingdom have also accused Google last week of abusing its dominance in the same sphere.

Read more: Google violated antitrust laws by maintaining monopoly, court rules

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