Google has lost its appeal against a record €4.13 billion EU competition fine, after Europe’s highest court backed Brussels’ view that Android was used to squash rivals.
The European Court of Justice dismissed the appeal from Google and its parent Alphabet, confirming a lower-court ruling that mostly upheld the European Commission’s 2018 decision.
According to the Financial Times, the ruling is a useful win for Brussels, which is trying to show Big Tech that its new rulebook has teeth.
The Commission found that Google illegally beefed up the dominance of its search engine by forcing smartphone makers to pre-install Google Search and Chrome with its Play app store.
It said the outfit blocked the use of alternatives to Android. The ECJ said its judgment confirmed the “anticompetitive effects of the pre-installation conditions laid down by the Android agreements”.
The ruling leaves a €4.13 billion fine in place, after the EU General Court trimmed the Commission’s original €4.34 billion penalty in 2022.
Google said the judgment failed “to recognise our significant investment to ensure Android remains open, interoperable and free”.
A Commission spokesperson said it had taken “note” of Thursday’s judgment.
The European Consumer Organisation welcomed the judgment, saying it “sends a very clear message: dominant companies cannot use their power to shut out competition and limit consumer choice.”
The Android fine was one of three cases against Alphabet-owned Google, with regulators fining the company a total of €8 billion between 2017 and 2019.
The EU’s top court has already backed the bloc’s decision to fine the search giant €2.42 billion for favouring its own comparison-shopping service ahead of rivals.
Google did win its appeal against a €1.5 billion fine from 2019 for blocking competitors in the online advertising market, which the General Court annulled in 2024.
The EU still has open investigations into Google under its Digital Markets Act, which is supposed to curb the power of tech giants before they swallow the furniture.
These include a prominent case against Google for favouring its own services in search results and rules requiring Google Play to steer users to different applications.
The outcome of those separate investigations is expected to include fines for breaching Brussels’ rules and has become politically touchy. US President Donald Trump has attacked the EU’s fines against US companies, calling them a “form of taxation” and persecuting US companies who might give him a trophy.
