When the EU hit Google with a massive fine back in 2018, the tech company was really hoping it would never have to pay up. Eight years of appeals later, and it turns out the company is out of luck and will have to cough up the fine to the tune of 4.1 billion euro ($4.7 billion).
Europe’s top court upheld the penalty on Thursday, saying that previous rulings had been correct. “The appeal brought by Google and its parent company Alphabet against the judgment of the General Court is dismissed, thereby confirming the penalty imposed for Google Search’s abuse of a dominant position in the context of the Android operating system,” said the Court of Justice of the European Union in a statement (PDF).
“Android provides more choice for everyone and supports thousands of businesses,” said a spokesperson for Google over email. “This judgment fails to recognize our significant investment to ensure Android remains open, interoperable and free. In any event, we adapted our agreements to comply with the initial decision back in 2018 and we remain focused on continued innovation and openness for our users, partners and developers.”
The European Commission originally handed Google the fine after following an investigation into anticompetitive practices involving the company’s Android ecosystem. It concluded that Google was putting phone-makers such as Samsung and Motorola at a disadvantage because the agreements it struck with these companies forced them to be completely reliant on Android.
Of particular focus in Commission’s conclusion were the requirements for Google apps and search tools, as well as the Google Play Store, to be preinstalled on all Android devices, which allows Google to preserve and strengthen its dominance in search.
The original fine was 4.3 billion euros, but the Commission trimmed it down to 4.1 billion euros in 2022.
At the time, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in a blog post that the decision “misses just how much choice Android provides to thousands of phone makers and mobile network operators who build and sell Android devices; to millions of app developers around the world who have built their businesses with Android; and billions of consumers who can now afford and use cutting-edge Android smartphones.”
The Commission also handed out fines to Google for other anticompetitive practices, including giving preference to its own ad tech and shopping services. Google also lost its appeal for the latter of these cases.
Read the full article here