Google loses case against record fine of 4.1 billion euros imposed by the EU

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Alphabet's Google on Thursday lost its battle against a record fine imposed by European Union antitrust authorities eight years ago for using its Android mobile operating system to block competitors - a court ruling that is likely to intensify Europe's crackdown on big technology companies.
The European Commission had initially slapped Google with a 4.34 billion euro fine in 2018 for its agreements forcing cell phone makers to pre-install Google Search, the Chrome browser and the Google Play app store on their Android devices and prevented them from using competing Android systems.
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A lower court later reduced the fine to €4.1 billion in 2022 after the world's most popular search engine challenged the EU's penalty. Google then appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union, based in Luxembourg, Europe's highest court.
The court ruled in favor of the EU's antitrust authority.
"The appeal brought by Google and its parent company, Alphabet, against the General Court ruling is dismissed, thus confirming the penalty imposed for the abuse of Google Search's dominant position in the context of the Android operating system," the judges said.
A Google spokesperson stated that the decision did not take into account its investments to ensure Android remains open, interoperable and free.
"In any case, we have adapted our agreements to comply with the initial decision as early as 2018 and remain focused on continued innovation and openness for our users, partners and developers," Google said.
Google has racked up around 11 billion euros in EU fines over the past decades for various antitrust infractions.
It is likely to receive more fines for allegedly favoring its own services and products in search results and for practices related to its application store, both covered by the Digital Markets Law, which aims to contain the power of large technology companies.

Source: G1