Google loses fight over record $4.7B EU antitrust fine
The European Union's General Court upheld a €4.1 billion ($4.7 billion) antitrust fine against Google, ruling that the company illegally used its Android operating system to dominate the search engine market. The court found that Google imposed unlawful restrictions on smartphone makers to cement its market power.
Background
- The European Commission fined Google €4.34 billion ($4.7B) in 2018 for abusing the dominance of its Android mobile operating system to favor its own services (like Google Search and Chrome) over competitors.
- This penalty was the largest antitrust fine ever imposed by the EU at the time, part of a broader regulatory crackdown on Big Tech led by Margrethe Vestager, the EU's competition chief.
- Google appealed the decision. On July 2, 2026, the EU's General Court (the second-highest court in the EU) rejected that appeal, upholding the fine.
- The core issue: Google required phone makers that licensed the Google Play Store to also pre-install Google Search and Chrome, and paid some manufacturers and mobile networks to exclusively use Google Search. The EU says this stifled competition and consumer choice.
- This ruling is a major win for European regulators and reinforces the EU's power to police the behavior of US tech giants.