Google has largely lost its appeal against a record-setting €4.125 billion ($4.13 billion) antitrust fine imposed by the European Union. Europe's General Court upheld the original ruling, stating that Google abused its dominant position with the Android mobile operating system. The fine, initially €4.34 billion in 2018, was slightly reduced by the court to better reflect the gravity and duration of the infringement, making it the largest antitrust penalty ever handed down by the European Commission.
The court confirmed the Commission's finding that Google imposed unlawful restrictions on manufacturers of Android mobile devices and mobile network operators to consolidate the dominant position of its search engine. Specifically, Google forced phone makers to pre-install its search and web browser apps to get access to the Google Play Store. While the court annulled the Commission's finding regarding payments to manufacturers for exclusively pre-installing the Google Search app on their devices, this only resulted in a modest reduction of the fine. Google expressed its disappointment but can still appeal the decision to the EU Court of Justice, Europe's highest court, on matters of law.
This ruling is a significant victory for EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager and strengthens the EU's resolve to curb the power of U.S. tech giants. It backs existing enforcement efforts and reinforces the Commission's ability to use antitrust proceedings to ensure compliance with digital regulations
