Google loses fight against record €4.1B EU antitrust fine
The European Union's top court dismissed Google's appeal against a record €4.1 billion antitrust fine imposed in 2018 for abusing the dominance of its Android mobile operating system. The court upheld the penalty, originally the largest ever issued by the European Commission, for blocking rivals in the search engine and mobile browser markets.
Background
- The €4.1 billion fine (originally €4.34 billion, reduced slightly on appeal) was imposed by the European Commission in 2018 for abusing the dominant position of its Android mobile operating system.
- The EU found that Google illegally required smartphone makers to pre-install Google Search and Chrome as a condition for licensing the Play Store, and paid manufacturers and mobile network operators to exclusively pre-install Google Search.
- This is one of three major EU antitrust penalties against Google, alongside a €2.42B fine for favoring its own shopping service and a €1.49B fine for abusing dominance in online search advertising.
- The ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is final and cannot be appealed, cementing the EU's aggressive approach to regulating Big Tech under competition chief Margrethe Vestager.