After a landmark fine of 2.4 billion euro ($2.7 billion) Google is preparing to show some muscle with European Union antitrust regulators. The tech giant needs to prove their case against the European Commission’s view that the company stiffens innovation and competition.
The California company will appeal the Luxembourg-based court with the help of five European law firms. The firms aim to reshape key functions in their retail search results, Android app development, and Adsense functioning.
Cleary Gottlieb, Allen & Overy, Slaughter and May, Garrigues and White & Case have been hired by Google and its parent company, Alphabet.
The fine doubled the one Google was expected to receive in the trial that poises potentially disruptive changes to its business practices. After the European court’s decision, the Senior VP of legal affairs and General Counsel of Google, Kent Walker stated what they want to achieve with his legal strategy going forward: to convince the General Court, in an appeal, that their comparison tools and shopping results don’t favor them over their competitors, but favor the users with more “useful information.”
“When the Commission asks why some comparison websites have not done as well as others, we think it should consider the many sites that have grown in this period–including platforms like Amazon and eBay,” wrote Walker in a blog post immediately after the Court’s decision.
This legal battle represents a turning point for Google as some American companies have taken sides with the EU in an open letter to European officials stating that “Google operates on a global scale and across the entire online ecosystem, destroying jobs and stifling innovation.” Oracle, Getty Images, and News Corporation are among those who will be watching the legal meddling of this new front in Google’s battle against regulation.
Marco Islas for TechFunnel.com
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