Google has lost its appeal in a case over a record €4.13 billion EU antitrust fine. On Thursday, the European Union’s highest court agreed with regulators in Brussels that the company had used its Android mobile operating system to restrict competition.
The European Court of Justice dismissed the appeal by Google and its parent company, Alphabet, upholding a lower-court ruling that largely confirmed the European Commission’s 2018 decision.
At the time, the European Commission concluded that Google had unlawfully strengthened the dominant position of its search engine. According to the regulator, the company required smartphone makers to pre-install Google Search and Chrome together with the Play Store, while also obstructing the use of Android alternatives.
The court’s judgment, the European Court of Justice said, confirmed the “anticompetitive effects of the pre-installation conditions set out in the Android agreements.”
The final ruling leaves in place a €4.13 billion fine. The European Commission had initially fined Google €4.34 billion, but in 2022 the EU General Court reduced the amount.
Google said the court’s decision failed to take account of “our substantial investments in keeping Android open, compatible and free.”
The Android case was one of three major antitrust proceedings against Alphabet-owned Google. Over the past decade, European regulators have fined the company a total of €8 billion.
The court’s ruling strengthens the European Commission’s position as it seeks to enforce tough new rules designed to tighten oversight of the world’s largest technology companies.
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