EU court rules that Google record-setting Android antitrust fine was justified

• The EU court upheld Google’s record-setting antitrust fine of 4,125 million euros for Android practices.
• The court, in 2018, rejected an appeal by the company against the European Commission’s decision, which found Google Search and Chrome violated antitrust rules.
• The court also upheld the fine imposed in an earlier case, which was related to anticompetitive practices between Google and the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The EU court upheld the ruling that Google’s record-setting antitrust fine for Android practices was justified. The company was fined 4,125 billion euros ($4.67 billion), and the fine was upheld in full.

The court also rejected an appeal by Google concerning a fine of 4.3 billion euros imposed in 2018 for restricting competition in the Android market. Specifically, it ruled that Google Search and Chrome’s pre-installation on phones violated competition rules.

In 2022, the General Court had ruled against the European Commission’s decision without changing the fine amount, reducing the sum from 4.34 billion euros to 4.125 billion euros. After that, Google challenged the decision before the Court of Justice of the EU.

As a result of the court’s decision, Google will have to comply with the antitrust requirements and adjust its Android business practices accordingly.

Google, for its part, argued that its anti-competition fine was unfounded and that Android could not be considered a closed system. It also said that the EU court’s ruling was based on a misunderstanding of the case and that the company’s practices were not comparable to Apple’s.

The court’s decision also dealt with the antitrust case’s underlying facts. In particular, it considered that Google’s practices were aimed at strengthening its position in the search and browser markets, and that this harmed competition.

In total, the court’s decision concerns fines related to anticompetitive practices by Google between 2017 and 2019, with a combined amount of 8 billion euros, and also takes into account the provisions of the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

In addition, the court’s decision means that the fine for Google’s anticompetitive practices is expected to be paid in full. The fine for 2025 is 2.95 billion euros for the version of the ruling, while the fine for 2.4 billion euros is for the appeal.

Tags: Europe/Politics/Economy/Technology/Devices