Google has lost its long-running fight against a record EU antitrust fine. Europe’s top court dismissed the company’s final appeal on Thursday. The ruling confirms a penalty of around 4.1 billion euros, roughly $4.7 billion.
The Court of Justice of the European Union issued the binding decision. It sided fully with the European Commission, the bloc’s antitrust regulator. The court said Google abused Android’s dominance to block rivals. Google now 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.
The case dates back to 2018 when the Commission first acted. Regulators found Google forced phone makers into restrictive agreements. Those deals required pre-installing Google Search, Chrome, and the Play Store. Some manufacturers got financial incentives to install Google Search exclusively. The Commission said these practices harmed competition badly. They made it harder for rival search engines and browsers to compete. The original fine stood at 4.34 billion euros in 2018. A lower tribunal trimmed it to 4.1 billion euros in 2022.
Google then took its appeal to the EU’s highest court. The judges rejected it, confirming the revised penalty in full. The court cited abuse of a dominant position via the Android system. That closes a legal battle running nearly eight years.
Google expressed disappointment with the outcome. A spokesperson said the ruling ignored its investment in keeping Android open. The company argued Android provides more choice for users and developers. It noted it had already changed its agreements back in 2018.
The decision is seen as boosting Europe’s Big Tech crackdown. It marks a major win for regulators in Brussels. Alphabet shares slipped around 1% in premarket trading. The EU has separately pursued Google and others under the Digital Markets Act. That newer law targets dominant gatekeeper platforms directly.
