The case is one of three that has resulted in a total of EUR
8.25 billion in European Union antitrust fines on the world's most popular
internet search engine.
The European Commission in its 2019 decision said Google had
abused its dominance to stop websites using brokers other than its AdSense
platform which provided search adverts. The Commission said the illegal
practices occurred from 2006 to 2016.
Google subsequently challenged the EU finding in the
Luxembourg-based General Court. The company will set out its case during a
three-day hearing starting on Monday.
The EU competition enforcer's assessment of Google's
dominance and the Commission's decision that search ads and non-search ads do
not compete were wrong, Google said in a court document.
It also took issue with the Commission for saying the
company's exclusivity, premium placement and minimum Google ads clauses were
abusive.
Google suffered a setback last year when it lost its court
fight against a EUR 2.42 billion antitrust decision over the use of its own
price comparison shopping service to gain an unfair advantage over smaller
European rivals. © Reuters 2022