The EU’s highest court has upheld a multi-billion Euro fine against Google for abusing its dominating position.
Google and its parent company Alphabet have been fighting the fine since it was handed down by the European Commission back in 2018.
The EU concluded that Google had “abused its dominant position by requiring, in particular through pre-installation agreements and licensing conditions for certain apps, that its search engine, Google Search, and its Chrome browser be promoted on mobile devices running the Android operating system, which is also provided by Google.”
The EU’s General Court agreed to shave about €200,000 off the fine in a previous judgment, but Google appealed to the Court of Justice, the EU’s highest court, to try and get the entire fine cancelled.
But this morning, judges agreed with the European Commission that the fine was valid. Google must now pay the €4.1 billion.
“The Court of Justice dismisses the appeal brought by Google and Alphabet against that judgment of the General Court, thereby confirming the penalty imposed on them, as revised by the General Court, for their anticompetitive practices relating to the Android operating system,” the court said.
Google’s fine has been set at €4,125,000,000 of which its parent company, Alphabet, is jointly and severally liable for €1,520,605 895.
Reacting to the judgment, a Google spokesperson said:
“Android provides more choice for everyone and supports thousands of businesses. This judgment fails to recognize our significant 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.”