In 2017, the European Commission levied what was at the time the biggest fine it had ever issued against the tech giant for illegally using its powerful search engine to drive consumers to its own comparison site, however, a €4.3bn fine against Google later toppled that.

Google had appealed the penalty, but on Tuesday (10.09.24), the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in favour of the Commission and branded Google's actions "discriminatory".

Rival sites Foundem and Kelkoo were among the complainants, with the latter branding the result "a win for fair competition and consumer choice."

Google will also have to cough up any costs incurred by the European Commission.

A spokesperson told Euractiv that Google is "disappointed with the Court’s decision” after it “made changes back in 2017 to comply with the European Commission’s decision."