EU court adviser says Google's scrapped $1.7B AdSense fine should be revived

On November 12, 2026, Advocate General Juliane Kokott advised the Court of Justice of the European Union that the lower General Court erred when it annulled Google's €1.49 billion ($1.7 billion) AdSense fine. Her opinion is not binding. She recommended the CJEU reject the annulment and remand the case, and suggested any fine that survives should be smaller.

The penalty dates to March 2019, when the European Commission found that restrictive clauses in Google's publisher contracts blocked rival ad providers from placing search ads on publishers' sites, strengthening Google's already dominant position in online search advertising. Google dropped the clauses in 2016 — timing Kokott tied to the size of any eventual penalty.

The General Court scrapped the fine in September 2024, finding the Commission's assessment of Google's conduct inadequate. The Commission appealed, landing the fight at the CJEU as Case C-826/24 P. Across six EU antitrust cases spanning nearly two decades, Google has been fined a combined €10.38 billion, with AdSense the lone case where a fine was annulled.

A final CJEU decision is anticipated in 2027, and the court typically sides with its advocate general. Kokott's route back is a remand, not an automatic reinstatement, meaning more litigation and a number that could land below €1.49 billion. The court could also set its own figure or break from her view and leave the 2024 annulment standing.