- Europe’s top court has upheld Google’s fine of around 4.1 billion euros ($4.67 billion) over alleged anti-competitive practices.
- In 2018, the European Commission slapped Google with the record-breaking penalty on the grounds that it abused Android’s mobile dominance.
- Google has been appealing the ruling through the EU court system. But the European Court of Justice (ECJ), Europe’s top court, dismissed Google’s appeal.
“Hong Kong, China – March, 19 2012: A close-up of a Samsung Galaxy S II Android screen with social media applications of Google Plus, Facebook, Play Store and Google Search.”
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Europe’s top court on Thursday upheld Google’s fine of around 4.1 billion euros ($4.67 billion) over alleged anti-competitive practices
In 2018, the European Commission slapped Google with the record-breaking penalty on the grounds that it abused Android’s mobile dominance to give unfair advantage to its own apps
Google has been appealing the ruling through the EU court system. But the European Court of Justice (ECJ), Europe’s top court, dismissed Google’s appeal. Google has no further right to appeal
“The Court of Justice dismisses the appeal brought by Google and Alphabet against that judgment of the General Court, thereby confirming the penalty imposed on them, as revised by the General Court, for their anticompetitive practices relating to the Android operating system,” the ECJ said in a press release
Shares of Google-parent Alphabet were around 1% lower in premarket trading
In 2022, a lower EU court reduced the fine to the current 4.1 billion euros from 4.34 billion euros previously
Google has argued that the Android operating system provides choice for users and supports developers and businesses across Europe
“Android provides more choice for everyone and supports thousands of businesses. This judgment fails to recognize our significant investment to ensure Android remains open, interoperable and free,” a Google spokesperson told CNBC
“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.”
Google has attempted to allay the Commission’s concerns over the years such as allowing Android users to switch between search engines and browsers so they are not tied to the company’s apps
EU’s Big Tech crackdown
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, has been pursuing Google for more than a decade after first opening proceedings against the company in 2015
Google has been in the crosshairs of the Commission over several alleged antitrust practices. Last year, the Commission hit Google with a 2.95 billion euro fine for anti-competitive practices in its advertising technology business
While antitrust is still a focus for the Commission, the regulator is now looking at the practices of big technology firms under the sweeping Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act, with companies like Apple and Meta also under scrutiny
“The decision itself is particularly important in so far as it represents the end of what might be termed the European Commission’s ‘first stage’ battle with big tech, that is the use of its competition law powers to deal with the behaviour of the Big Tech companies in terms of stifling competition on EU markets,” Alex Haffner, partner at Fladgate, told CNBC
“More recently, the Commission’s focus has switched to the legislative tools at its disposal, particularly the Digital Services Act, to regulat Big Tech and it’s likely therefore that this will be the regulatory focus moving forward.”
Europe’s treatment of U.S. technology companies has drawn the ire of President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials. Last month, Trump threatened to impose a “100% TARIFF” on goods of any country that imposes a digital services tax on U.S. Companies. European countries such as France and Spain have imposed a digital services tax
In March, the U.S. ambassador to the EU Andrew Puzder told CNBC that Europe “can’t over regulate” and hit companies with “huge fines” if it is going to participate in the AI economy
