Google has lost its final legal challenge against one of the largest antitrust penalties ever issued in Europe. On Thursday, the European Union’s highest court confirmed a fine of about 4.1 billion euros ($4.67 billion), ending a years-long legal fight over the company’s Android business practices.
The ruling from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) leaves in place a reduced version of the penalty first imposed by the European Commission in 2018. Regulators said Google used Android’s dominant position in the smartphone market to give its own apps an unfair advantage through agreements that required manufacturers to pre-install Google services.
In a statement, the court said:
“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 original fine totaled 4.34 billion euros, but a lower EU court reduced it to 4.1 billion euros in 2022. Google appealed that decision, but the ECJ rejected the company’s arguments, making the ruling final.
Google has maintained that Android benefits both consumers and businesses by giving people more options while helping developers reach users across Europe.
A company 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,”
The spokesperson added: “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.”
Following the Commission’s original decision, Google introduced changes designed to address regulatory concerns. Those measures included giving Android users greater freedom to choose different search engines and web browsers instead of relying only on Google’s default services.
The case is part of a much broader effort by European regulators to increase oversight of major technology companies. The European Commission began investigating Google’s business practices in 2015 and has since pursued multiple competition cases against the company.
Last year, regulators also fined Google 2.95 billion euros over alleged anti-competitive conduct tied to its digital advertising technology business.
European authorities have expanded their attention beyond traditional antitrust enforcement. The Digital Markets Act now gives regulators broader powers to examine the behavior of dominant technology platforms. Companies including Apple and Meta are also facing regulatory scrutiny under the new rules.
Europe’s aggressive approach toward large U.S. technology companies has created tensions with Washington. President Donald Trump criticized digital taxes imposed by several European countries and last month threatened a “100% TARIFF” on goods from nations that apply digital services taxes to U.S. companies. Countries including France and Spain currently have such taxes in place.
The debate extends beyond competition policy. In March, U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Andrew Puzder told CNBC that Europe “can’t over regulate” and hit companies with “huge fines” if it is going to participate in the AI economy.
