French court keeps 150 million euro fine against Google for unclear ad rules

French court keeps 150 million euro fine against Google for unclear ad rules. 

According to a Google spokeswoman, a French court of appeals upheld a 150 million euro punishment issued against Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL.O) for abusing its influence over advertising treatment.

According to France’s antitrust agency, Google implemented opaque advertising regulations and modified them at a whim, which imposed the penalties in 2019.

It was the first time the competition authority had issued a penalty on Google.

“We have made some modifications to make these principles clearer following the (French competition authority’s) initial judgment,” a Google representative said. “We will now analyze the court’s verdict in detail and evaluate our next steps.”

According to Google, two of the watchdog’s rulings accompanied the 150 million-euro penalties were reversed.

The first has overturned an injunction requiring it to implement a mechanism that allows French consumers to raise complaints.

The second-order that was reversed required Google to publish an annual report listing the number of websites whose Google Ads accounts had been suspended for violating its rules and the nature of the restrictions that had been broken.

Advertisers that want to appear in the sponsored area of search results can use Google Ads.