Key facts
- Advocate General Juliane Kokott said the General Court wrongly concluded the Commission had not proved the harmful effects of Google's contracts.
- Kokott said the lower court had not looked at all the evidence in its context, per the opinion.
- The opinion is non-binding and the Court of Justice has yet to rule on the Commission's appeal.
An adviser to the Court of Justice of the European Union said on November 12, 2026 that the General Court was wrong to annul a €1.49 billion ($1.7 billion) antitrust fine the European Commission imposed on Google seven years earlier over online advertising practices.
Advocate General Juliane Kokott said in her non-binding opinion that the lower court had wrongly concluded the Commission had not proved the harmful effects of Google's contracts, and that it had not examined all the evidence in context, according to MLex.
The General Court rejected the Commission's decision in 2024, prompting the Commission to appeal to the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice. The advocate general's opinion does not bind the court, which will issue the final ruling.