Google loses EU court fight over $4.7B Android antitrust fine

Google lost its long-running legal battle against a European Union antitrust fine of around €4.1 billion ($4.7 billion) after the bloc's top court dismissed an appeal by the US technology giant and its parent company Alphabet.

The Court of Justice of the EU said on Thursday that the appeal against a previous judgment by the General Court was dismissed, confirming the penalty imposed over Google Search's abuse of a dominant position in the context of the Android operating system.

The case dates back to 2018, when the European Commission found that Google had abused its dominant position by using pre-installation agreements and licensing conditions to promote Google Search and the Chrome browser on mobile devices running Android.

The Commission initially imposed an overall fine of €4.34 billion on Google, with Alphabet held jointly and severally liable for part of the penalty.

At first instance, the General Court upheld the classification of Google's conduct as a single and continuous infringement, but partially annulled the Commission's decision regarding certain revenue-sharing agreements with device manufacturers and mobile network operators.

Following that partial annulment, the General Court reduced the fine to €4.125 billion, with Alphabet jointly and severally liable for €1.52 billion.

In its latest ruling, the Court of Justice found that the General Court had not erred in law in assessing the anticompetitive effects of Google's Android agreements.

The top court said the General Court was entitled to consider the broader economic context, including revenue-sharing agreements, and did not have to systematically carry out a counterfactual analysis to establish abuse of a dominant position.

The court also upheld findings that pre-installed apps benefited from a "status quo bias," rejecting Google and Alphabet's argument that user preferences or the quality of their services alone explained the observed market behavior.

The Court of Justice ruled that the General Court was right to confirm the Commission's assessment of Android pre-installation conditions and anti-fragmentation agreements, saying the practices were capable of restricting competition and strengthening barriers to market entry.

It also endorsed the General Court's decision to maintain the classification of the infringement as single and continuous, despite the partial annulment concerning certain revenue-sharing agreements.