Alphabet’s Google has officially hit the end of the legal road in Europe, losing a grueling, eight-year battle against a record-breaking antitrust fine.
The Court of Justice of the European Union—the bloc’s highest judicial authority—firmly dismissed Google’s final appeal. The landmark decision cements a staggering €4.1 billion ($4.4 billion) penalty originally levied against the search giant for abusing its market dominance via the Android mobile operating system, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
The legal saga dates back to 2018 when antitrust regulators slammed Google for choking out its competitors. The EU found that Google systematically forced phone manufacturers to pre-install Google Search, the Chrome browser, and the Google Play app store on Android devices while restricting them from using rival software. While a lower tribunal trimmed the initial €4.34 billion fine down to €4.1 billion in 2022, the high court’s ruling ensures Google must now pay up.
A Google spokesperson criticized the decision, arguing it ignores the massive investments the company made to keep Android open, interoperable, and free. They noted that the company already adjusted its manufacturer agreements back in 2018 to fall in line with European guidelines.
While the massive multi-billion euro fine amounts to less than 3% of Alphabet’s annual profit, the deeper consequence is psychological. The high-profile loss strips away Google’s legal armor, likely emboldening global regulators and regional competitors to chase the company for sweeping damages. Just days ago, a Swedish court ordered Google to pay $1.5 billion to price-comparison service PriceRunner following a similar antitrust precedent.
With Europe’s strict new Digital Markets Act now in full effect, this historic decision sets a bruising precedent for the future of Big Tech regulations.
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