The European Commission last year charged Google with favouring its own advertising services, opening its fourth case against the world's most popular search engine.

In an effort to quell monopoly concerns in the EU, Google reportedly offered to sell its AdX advertising marketplace. Sources told Reuters that European publishers rejected Google's offer, arguing that the company would have to divest more in order to dismantle the conflicts of interest in its online advertising operations.

Following a complaint from the European Publishers Council, the European Commission opened its investigation of the search giant, charging Google with violating its antitrust laws by using its advertising technology to undermine and unlawfully block rivals.

Google has won its challenge against a €1.49bn (£1.26bn) fine from the EU for blocking rival online search advertisers. The bloc accused Google of abusing its market dominance by restricting third-party rivals from displaying search ads between 2006 and 2016.

Google has won a court challenge against a 1.49 billion euro European Union antitrust fine imposed five years ago that targeted its online advertising business

Google parent Alphabet on Wednesday asked a London tribunal to throw out a mass lawsuit that accuses the tech giant of abusing its dominance in the online search market. The lawsuit – valued at up to 7 billion pounds ($9.