Google’s long-running battle with European antitrust regulators came to a costly end on Thursday, as the company failed to overturn a record EU penalty tied to Android and the way it was used to squeeze out competition — a ruling that is likely to strengthen Europe’s wider campaign against Big Tech.
The European Commission first imposed the €4.34 billion fine on Google in 2018, saying the company used agreements with phone makers to require the pre-installation of Google Search, the Chrome browser and the Google Play app store on Android devices, while also blocking the use of competing Android versions.
In 2022, a lower tribunal reduced that penalty to €4.1 billion after Google, the operator of the world’s most widely used search engine, challenged the EU’s decision.
Google then took its case to the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg, the bloc’s highest court.
“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.
A Google spokesperson said the ruling did not properly reflect 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”, Google said.
Over the past decades, Google has amassed nearly €11 billion in EU antitrust fines across a series of cases.
More penalties could follow soon, as the company faces scrutiny over claims that it gives preference to its own services and products in search results, as well as over app store-related practices — both now under the Digital Markets Act, the EU’s flagship effort to curb the power of Big Tech.
