Google Loses Final Appeal Against Record €4.1 Billion EU Antitrust Fine

Alphabet's Google has lost its long-running legal battle against a record fine imposed by European Union antitrust regulators eight years ago, after the bloc's top court dismissed its final appeal. The ruling, delivered by the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union, upholds the penalty levied over Google's use of its Android mobile operating system to shut out rivals, and is expected to strengthen Europe's broader crackdown on Big Tech companies.

Origins of the case

The European Commission originally fined Google €4.34 billion in July 2018 after finding that the company had used agreements with phone manufacturers to force pre-installation of Google Search, the Chrome browser and the Google Play app store on Android devices. Regulators also found that Google had blocked device makers from using rival, forked versions of Android, entrenching its dominance across search and app distribution.

Google challenged the penalty before the EU's General Court, a lower tribunal, which in September 2022 upheld the bulk of the Commission's findings but reduced the fine slightly, to roughly €4.1 billion, after identifying some procedural shortcomings in the Commission's investigation. Unsatisfied, Google escalated the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union, Europe's highest court, seeking to overturn the ruling entirely.

Google's response

A Google spokesperson reportedly told ET the judgment failed to account for the company's investment in keeping Android 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," the company said.