EU top court upholds €4.125 billion Android antitrust fine against Google
The EU Court of Justice dismissed Google's last challenge on Thursday, confirming a record penalty for using Android to illegally block rivals in search and browsing.
The ruling
The Court of Justice of the European Union on Thursday threw out Google's final appeal against a €4.125 billion antitrust fine, confirming that the company illegally tied its search and browser products to Android to squeeze out rivals. "The appeal brought by Google and its parent company Alphabet against the judgment of the General Court is dismissed," the Luxembourg-based court said, thereby making the penalty definitive. The fine, the largest ever imposed by the European Commission, originated in a 2018 decision that found Google had abused the dominance of its mobile operating system.
Eight years of litigation
The case began in 2018, when the Commission levied a €4.34 billion fine. Regulators determined that Google made access to the Play Store conditional on phone makers pre-installing Google Search and Chrome, and paid some manufacturers and carriers to keep competing search apps off their devices entirely. Google challenged the ruling, but in 2022 the General Court upheld the core finding while reducing the fine to €4.125 billion. Last year, Advocate General Juliane Kokott recommended that the Court of Justice reject the appeal, and Thursday's ruling follows that non-binding opinion, closing all judicial avenues for Google inside the bloc.
- European Commission imposes €4.34 billion fine on Google for Android abuses
- General Court upholds core findings, reduces fine to €4.125 billion
- Advocate General Juliane Kokott recommends dismissing Google's final appeal
- Court of Justice dismisses appeal, fine stands and no further EU appeals remain
Google's response
A Google spokesperson said the judgment "does not recognise the significant investments made to keep Android open, interoperable and free." The company added that it had already adapted its agreements to comply with the original 2018 decision and remained focused on innovation and openness for users, partners and developers. Earlier in the proceedings, Google had warned that the Commission's approach would discourage investment in open platforms, but that argument found no traction with the EU's highest court.
Political and regulatory fallout
The verdict drew immediate reaction from European lawmakers. Mario Furore, an M5S member of the European Parliament, praised the decision, saying legal certainty and respect for the rules are pillars of European democracy. "Today the European Union demonstrates it has the antibodies necessary to counter these abuses," Furore said. The ruling reinforces Brussels' position as an assertive antitrust enforcer. The Android case ran in parallel with a separate €2.4 billion fine over Google's shopping service, which the company also lost on appeal.
