Google Pushes Back Against UK Tribunal on Shopping Search Case

Google is pushing back against a UK tribunal's use of new EU rules in an ongoing shopping search case. The tech giant argues that breaking Europe's Digital Markets Act, which bans favoring own services, does not mean it owes rivals money under the old rules.

Kelkoo and Ciao, comparison-shopping sites, are seeking compensation for Google's alleged favoritism of its shopping service while burying rivals. They want the tribunal to draw on a July European Commission decision against Google, which fined the company $2.81 billion in 2017 for using its search dominance to give its shopping service an unfair advantage.

Google lawyer Meredith Pickford told the tribunal, 'The whole idea is that we're supposed to be competing against our rivals.' The claimants argue that the newer law's ban on favoring a platform's own services drew directly from the Google Shopping case and helps show why Google's shopping box still receives privileged treatment.