Commenting on the Google Shopping case at a press conference this morning local time, the EU’s competition chief Margrethe Vestager dubbed it “a landmark in the history of regulatory actions against Big Tech companies”. “It was one of the first significant antitrust cases brought by a competition agency against a major digital company and I think this case marked a pivotal shift in how digital companies were regulated and also perceived,” she suggested.
In further remarks on the CJEU ruling, she said: “The Court of Justice confirms that, in certain circumstances, the favorable treatment of its own services by a dominant company can be a breach of Article 9(2) of the European treaty. This important judgment validates the Commission’s approach to such practices.