Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOGL.US) wins EU 1.5 billion antitrust case on advertising.

Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOGL.US) won a victory in a 1.5 billion euros (1.7 billion dollars) antitrust advertising case, which to some extent offset the disastrous defeat the company suffered in another abuse of monopoly power judgment last week. Judges of the European Union's General Court supported Alphabet Inc. Class C's challenge to the 2019 fine, stating that regulatory authorities had made mistakes in their investigation. The European Commission had accused Alphabet Inc. Class C of illegally blocking competitors such as Yahoo and Microsoft Corporation from placing ads on third-party websites as a dominant online advertising broker. As a result, Alphabet Inc. Class C was fined 1.5 billion euros. Wednesday's ruling can still be appealed to the European Court of Justice, the EU's highest court. This decision comes after European Union competition chief Margrethe Vestager won two victories in a row. Last week, both Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) and Alphabet Inc. Class C lost in the two largest competition cases in EU history. Apple Inc. failed in the 13 billion euros (14.4 billion dollars) Irish tax case demanded by the EU, while Alphabet Inc. Class C faced a 2.4 billion euros fine for abusing its market power in the search market. Additionally, according to sources, Meta Platforms (META.US) is facing a hefty fine from the EU for allegedly monopolizing the classified ad market. The EU is expected to make a decision as early as next month, which will be one of Vestager's final investigations before leaving office.