Google loses the legal battle against the €4.1 billion EU fine

In a landmark legal decision, Google has lost its long-standing battle against a €4.1 billion fine imposed by the European Union over alleged anti-competitive practices related to its Android operating system. The Court of Justice of the European Union, the highest judicial body within the bloc, dismissed Google's appeal, upholding the penalty that was initially set by the European Commission in 2018. This ruling confirms that the company violated competition rules by leveraging its dominant position in the smartphone market through Android.

The European Commission first imposed a record fine of €4.34 billion in 2018 after finding that Google had forced manufacturers of Android smartphones to pre-install Google Search, the Chrome browser, and the Google Play Store. These requirements were said to have limited the use of competing systems and created barriers to entry for rival services. In 2022, the General Court of the EU reduced the fine to €4.1 billion, a decision now confirmed by the Court of Justice.

In its ruling, the court rejected Google’s appeal, confirming the sanction for abuse of dominance under the Android operating system framework. Google responded by stating that the decision does not take into account its investments to keep Android as an open, interoperable, and free platform. The company added that since the initial 2018 ruling, it has modified its agreements to align with European authorities' demands and will continue to focus on innovation. Over the past decade, Google has faced nearly €11 billion in fines from the European Union for various competition law violations.

Following the loss of another case related to price comparison services, several companies have initiated lawsuits seeking billions of dollars in different European countries. Just one day earlier, a Swedish court ordered Google to pay approximately $1.5 billion in damages to the company PriceRunner. Google is expected to face further investigations and sanctions within the European Union due to concerns that it favors its own services in search results and engages in practices related to the app store, issues being addressed under the Digital Markets Act, the EU's legislation aimed at curbing the power of large technology companies.

The European Commission, as the competition authority in the EU, initially imposed the record fine in 2018 after determining that Google had unlawfully enforced its dominance by requiring smartphone manufacturers to install Google Search along with other company applications, such as the Google Play Store. According to the Commission, these practices hindered the development of competing applications and created barriers to entering the market. Previously, the General Court of the EU reduced the fine from €4.34 billion to €4.125 billion, a decision that was later appealed by Google, leading to the case reaching the Court of Justice.

This decision marks the conclusion of one of the longest legal battles between Brussels and Google over dominance in the digital services market. In 2021, Google also lost another "antitrust" case regarding the promotion of its own shopping services, for which it was fined €2.4 billion.