Google has lost its final legal battle against the European Union over its Android business practices, with the bloc’s highest court upholding a 4.1 billion euro (around $4.7 billion) antitrust fine.
On Thursday, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) dismissed the appeal filed by Google and its parent company, Alphabet, confirming an earlier ruling that found the company had abused its dominant position in the Android ecosystem.
In its decision, the ECJ said it rejected Google’s appeal and upheld the penalty imposed for using the Android operating system to strengthen the dominance of Google Search.
The case began in 2018 when the European Commission imposed what was then a record antitrust fine against Google. Regulators argued that the company used Android to unfairly protect and expand the market position of its search engine.
According to the Commission, Google required smartphone manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and the Chrome browser if they wanted to license the Google Play Store. Regulators also said the company paid certain device makers and mobile network operators to exclusively pre-install Google Search while restricting manufacturers from selling phones powered by alternative versions of Android that were not approved by Google.
In 2022, the General Court of the European Union largely agreed with the Commission’s findings but slightly reduced the fine from 4.3 billion euros to 4.1 billion euros after determining that one part of the Commission’s case had not been fully proven.
Following Thursday’s ruling, Google said the decision does not recognize its significant investment in keeping Android open, interoperable, and free. The company also noted that it had already updated its licensing agreements in 2018 to comply with the European Commission’s original decision and said it would continue focusing on innovation and openness for users, developers, and business partners.
If this article helped you, please consider supporting our work. Every small contribution keeps Abijita.com independent and running.
The Android investigation remains one of the European Union’s largest competition cases against a global technology company and is part of a broader series of antitrust actions targeting Google’s business practices.
Google Loses Final Appeal Against $4.7 Billion EU Android Antitrust Fine
