In 2018, the European Commission imposed a record fine on Google for abusing its dominant position with Android on mobile devices. Google appealed this decision in the EU court system. However, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), Europe’s highest court, rejected Google’s appeal.
On Thursday, Europe’s highest court upheld the ruling in the Google case, ordering the company to pay a fine of approximately 4.1 billion euros ($4.67 billion) for alleged anti-competitive practices.
In 2018, the European Commission imposed a record fine on Google for abusing its dominant position in the mobile device market through Android. This was done to give the company’s own apps an unfair advantage through pre-installation agreements with smartphone manufacturers.
Google appealed this decision in the EU court system, but the European Court of Justice (Europe’s highest court) rejected the appeal.
“The European Court of Justice has dismissed the appeal filed by Google and Alphabet against the General Court’s ruling, upholding the penalty for anti-competitive practices related to the Android operating system,” the court’s press release states.
In 2022, a lower EU court reduced the fine from 4.34 billion euros to the current 4.1 billion euros.
Google maintains that the Android operating system provides users with freedom of choice and supports developers and businesses across Europe.
“Android provides users with more options and supports thousands of companies. Our decision does not take into account the significant investments we’ve made to ensure that Android remains open, compatible, and free,” a Google spokesperson told CNBC.
“We have adapted our agreements in line with the 2018 ruling and continue to focus on innovation and openness for users, partners, and developers.”
The EU is tightening its oversight of tech companies
For many years, Google has attempted to address the Commission’s concerns, for example, by allowing Android users to switch between search engines and browsers so as not to lock them into the company’s apps.
Google has come under close scrutiny by the European Commission due to alleged violations of antitrust laws. Last year, the Commission fined Google 2.95 billion euros for anti-competitive practices in the field of advertising technology.
Although antitrust regulation remains a priority for the Commission, the regulator is also examining the activities of major technology companies as part of the sweeping Digital Markets Act, including companies such as Apple and Meta (the company is recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation).
Europe’s response to the actions of U.S. tech companies has drawn criticism from President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials. Last month, Trump threatened to impose a “100 percent tariff” on goods from countries that levy a digital services tax on U.S. companies. European countries such as France and Spain have already adopted such measures.
In March, U.S. Ambassador to the EU Andrew Puzder stated that Europe should not overregulate or impose huge fines on companies if it wants to participate in the artificial intelligence economy, according to CNBC.
Follow our updates
