The European Union’s highest court has dismissed Google's final appeal against a landmark antitrust ruling, confirming that the technology giant must pay a reduced fine of €4.125 billion.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) upheld the decision originally made by the European Commission in 2018. The Commission had found that Google abused its dominant market position by using its Android operating system to restrict competition and consolidate its power in search engines. While the initial penalty was set at a record-breaking €4.34 billion, the EU’s General Court slightly reduced the figure to €4.125 billion in 2022. The ECJ has now confirmed this amount, making it the largest antitrust fine in the European Commission's history.
The core of the legal dispute centered on Google's agreements with mobile phone manufacturers and network operators. According to the European Commission, Google acted anti-competitively by forcing manufacturers to pre-install the Google Search app and Chrome browser as a condition for licensing the Google Play Store. The tech giant was also accused of making payments to large manufacturers to secure search exclusivity and preventing them from selling devices running modified, or "forked," versions of the Android operating system.
In its final ruling, the ECJ rejected Google’s arguments and agreed that the pre-installation of these apps created a "status quo bias" among consumers, which significantly hindered rival search engines from competing fairly.
Responding to the court’s decision, a Google spokesperson expressed disappointment, stating that the judgment "fails to recognise" the company's "significant investment to ensure Android remains open, interoperable, and free." Google also emphasized that it had already modified its licensing agreements in 2018 to comply with the European Commission's requirements.