Google: EU Court rules in favour of Agcom on gambling on YouTube

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Google has lost its case before the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning gambling adverts hosted on its YouTube video platform, following a fine of €750,000 imposed by AGCOM in 2022. In particular, the Court ruled that Google can be held liable for a content creator’s YouTube videos if the tech giant has a commercial partnership with that creator. Agcom had fined Google in 2022, arguing that the company had breached Italian legislation by hosting videos promoting online gambling. Google had challenged the decision in Italia, arguing that it was not liable for third-party content on YouTube under EU law. This led the Italian judges to refer the case to the Court in Luxembourg for clarification.

"Today, the Court of Justice of the European Union, in its judgment in Case C-421/24 – comments Massimiliano Capitanio, AGCOM commissioner, on LinkedIn – has ruled that Google can be held liable for videos published on YouTube when it does not merely host them but selects, monitors and monetises them. I call this editorial responsibility. The case stems from a decision adopted in July 2022, in which AGCOM imposed a fine of 750,000 euros on Google Ireland for having carried, via the channels of a content creator linked to YouTube through a commercial partnership agreement, advertisements for gambling websites in breach of the ‘Dignity Decree’.

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