Google should pay a multibillion fine in antitrust shopping case, an EU court adviser says

LONDON (AP) — A legal adviser to the European Union’s top court says Google should pay a whopping fine in a long-running antitrust case. EU regulators had found the company gave its own shopping recommendations an illegal advantage over rivals in search results. The European Court of Justice’s advocate general on Thursday recommended rejecting the U.S. search giant’s appeal of the 2017 penalty. In a legal opinion, the advocate general also proposed upholding the $2.6 billion fine that the European Commission slapped on Google. Opinions by the Court of Justice’s advocate general aren’t legally binding but are often followed by its judges. Their final decision is expected within months.