Luxembourg, Luxembourg. Alphabet’s Google lost its appeal against a record EU antitrust fine over Android, as Europe’s highest court upheld the penalty imposed for practices regulators said blocked rivals. The ruling confirms a €4.1 billion fine and is likely to strengthen the European Union’s scrutiny of Big Tech.
Court upholds Android penalty
The European Commission imposed a €4.34 billion fine on Google in 2018 over agreements that required phone manufacturers to pre-install Google Search, the Chrome browser and the Google Play app store on Android devices. Regulators also said the agreements prevented manufacturers from using rival Android systems.
In 2022, the General Court reduced the fine to €4.1 billion after Google challenged the penalty. Google then appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg.
The court dismissed the appeal and upheld the lower tribunal’s judgment.
“The appeal brought by Google and its parent company Alphabet against the judgment of the General Court is dismissed, thereby confirming the penalty imposed for Google Search’s abuse of a dominant position in the context of the Android operating system,” the judges said.
Google response
A Google spokesperson said the judgment failed to take into account the company’s investment to ensure Android remains open, interoperable and free.
“In any event, we adapted our agreements to comply with the initial decision back in 2018 and we remain focused on continued innovation and openness for our users, partners and developers”, Google said.
Broader EU scrutiny
Google has accumulated close to €11 billion in EU fines over the past decades for various antitrust infringements.
The company is also likely to face additional fines over allegations that it favoured its own services and products in search results and over practices related to its app store. Both matters fall under the Digital Markets Act, which is aimed at curbing the power of Big Tech.