Google loses final appeal to overturn €4.1 billion EU fine

Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has dismissed Google's final appeal against a €4.1 billion ($4.7 billion) antitrust fine over the company's use of Android to promote its Chrome browser and search service.

This is the conclusion of a European Commission decision in 2018 that Google abused its dominant market position by using Android agreements to promote its products.

Back then, the Commission highlighted the following practices that were deemed illegal:

1. Requiring device manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and Chrome in order to license the Play Store.
2. Requiring manufacturers not to sell devices running Android versions not approved by Google (anti-fragmentation agreements)
3. Offering revenue-sharing agreements tied to the exclusive pre-installation of Google Search.

In 2022, the General Court partially annulled the Commission's findings regarding some revenue-sharing agreements, reducing the original fine from €4.34 billion to €4.125 billion, while upholding the rest of the Commission's decision.

Following an appeal, the case was referred to the CJEU, which has now affirmed the lower court's ruling [PDF].

Specifically, the CJEU found that the General Court correctly assessed the anti-competitive effects of Google's Android agreements, was not required to perform a counterfactual analysis in every instance to establish abuse of dominance, and correctly concluded that pre-installation and anti-fragmentation agreements restricted competition within the Android ecosystem and strengthened Google's dominant position.

Google’s response

Google responded to this development with a press release shared with the media, which highlights that Android promotes customer choice, remains an open platform, is interoperable, and is free.

Google argues that the Commission's decision does not reflect the realities of today's mobile ecosystem and stresses that the case is based on past market conditions.

"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. 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" - a Google spokesperson

Google said it has revised its contractual practices since 2018 following the European Commission's decision, introduced additional user-choice measures in 2021, and implemented more than 20 targeted product changes after the Digital Markets Act (DMA) took effect in 2024, including the addition of more choice screens.

Google also argued that the Commission underestimated the competitive pressure posed by Apple's iOS, which it considers Android's primary rival in both the consumer market and among developers choosing which platforms to build apps for.

The company further noted that Android device manufacturers compete intensely with one another on features, functionality, and pricing.