In a major blow to Google, a legal adviser to the European Union's top court has recommended upholding the ?‚¬2.4 billion ($2.6 billion) fine that was imposed on the company in 2017. The advocate general, Juliane Kokott, stated that Google should pay the hefty fine in a long-running antitrust case, where regulators found that the tech giant gave its own shopping recommendations an illegal advantage over rivals in search results.

The European Court of Justice's advocate general's opinion is not legally binding but is often followed by the judges. The final decision is expected to be made within the next few months. The European Commission, the bloc's top competition watchdog, had accused Google of unfairly directing visitors to its own Google Shopping service, thereby harming its competitors. This was one of three multibillion-euro fines that the commission imposed on Google in the previous decade as part of its crackdown on the tech industry.

The Court of Justice stated that Google's actions constituted “self-preferencing” and amounted to an "independent form of abuse." The company made changes in 2017 to comply with the European Commission's decision, which required it to treat competitors equally. Google started holding auctions for shopping search listings, bidding alongside other comparison shopping services.

In response to the advocate general's opinion, Google stated that it would review the recommendation and await the final decision of the court. The company also emphasized that it continues to invest in its remedy, which has been working successfully for several years, and will continue to work constructively with the European Commission. On the other hand, the commission declined to comment on the matter.

This latest setback for Google comes at a time when the company announced cost-cutting measures that resulted in the layoff of hundreds of employees in its hardware, voice assistance, and engineering teams. Additionally, Google has challenged two other EU rulings, one regarding its Android mobile operating system and the other regarding its AdSense advertising service.

The advocate general's recommendation to uphold the antitrust fine is seen as a significant blow to Google's position in the European market. The ruling will not only impact the company financially but also further intensify the scrutiny on Google and other tech giants by EU regulators. EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager is scheduled to meet with Google CEO Sundar Pichai and other Big Tech leaders in the United States to discuss competition and digital issues, highlighting the ongoing concerns surrounding the dominance of these companies in the market.