Google has lost its final appeal against the European Union’s major antitrust case about Android. This ends a legal battle that lasted eight years. On Thursday, the European Union’s highest court upheld a reduced fine of 4.1 billion euro, which is about Rs 44,100 crore. The court agreed with regulators that Alphabet-owned Google had abused its strong position in the mobile operating system market. Google clarified that they have already changed their business practices after the original decision in 2018, but the current judgement marks another major legal defeat for the company in Europe. Furthermore, it also strengthens the European Union’s push to curb the influence of big tech.
The European Commission accused Google of using Android to protect and expand the reach of its own services back in 2018. Regulators said the company required smartphone makers to pre-install Google Search, Google Chrome and the Google Play Store on Android devices if they wanted access to key Google apps.
Not only this, but the Commission also found that Google restricted manufacturers from selling devices running alternative versions of Android. According to the EU, these practices gave consumers fewer choices, reduced competition, and made it harder for other search engines and app developers to grow and compete in the market.
Following this discovery that Google had broken the rules, the European Commission gave the company a record fine of 4.34 billion euro in 2018. Google challenged the decision, and in 2022 the EU’s General Court reduced the fine to 4.1 billion euro. Not satisfied with the outcome, Google then appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union. However, recently the court had rejected the appeal from the Mountain View-based tech giant and confirmed the 4.1 billion euro fine.
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After the ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, a Google spokesperson said the court did not fully consider the company’s investment in keeping Android open, compatible with different devices, and free for users and developers.
Google also said that the company updated its agreements in 2018 just to comply with the European Commission’s decision. Furthermore, the company also added that it has remained focused on innovation and maintaining an open Android ecosystem for the betterment of the consumers.
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The latest ruling adds to Google’s growing list of antitrust penalties in Europe, with the company having accumulated nearly 11 billion euro in EU fines over the past decade for different competition violations.
Google could also face fresh penalties under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act. Regulators are currently examining whether the company unfairly favours its own services in search results and whether some of its app store practices comply with the bloc’s new digital competition rules.