In a major setback for Google, Europe’s highest court has upheld a €4.1 billion ($4.8 billion) antitrust fine against the tech giant, bringing an end to an eight-year legal battle over the company’s Android business practices.
As per media reports, The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on Wednesday dismissed Google’s appeal against the penalty imposed by the European Commission in 2018. The fine stems from allegations that Google abused Android’s dominant market position to strengthen the reach of its search engine and Chrome browser.
EU regulators had accused Google of requiring smartphone manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and Chrome as a condition for accessing the Google Play Store. The company was also found to have made payments to manufacturers and mobile network operators to exclusively pre-install Google Search and imposed restrictions that prevented the use of alternative versions of Android.
The European Commission initially levied a record €4.34 billion fine in 2018, which was later reduced to €4.125 billion by a lower tribunal in 2022. The CJEU’s latest ruling upholds that reduced penalty, effectively exhausting Google’s legal options in the case.
Reacting to the verdict, Google said the decision would discourage investment in open platforms and could harm Android users, partners and app developers. The company argued throughout the proceedings that Android had increased competition by creating more choices for consumers and lowering smartphone prices.
The ruling marks another significant victory for the European Union in its long-running efforts to rein in the market power of Big Tech companies. The bloc has increasingly used antitrust and digital market regulations to challenge the practices of major technology firms, including Google, Apple and Meta.
For Google, the judgment closes one of its most consequential antitrust cases in Europe, while reinforcing the EU’s position that dominant digital platforms cannot use their market power to unfairly favour their own services.
