The American company Google has been ordered to pay a record antitrust fine of 4.125 billion euros in the European Union - the EU Court dismissed its appeal in the case, reports UNN citing DW.
Details
Google has finally lost its lawsuit over the record fine imposed on it eight years ago by EU antitrust authorities for charges of abusing its dominant position in the market for mobile operating systems.
"The appeal filed by Google and its parent company Alphabet against the decision of the General Court is dismissed, thereby upholding the fine imposed for abuse of Google Search's dominant position in the context of the Android operating system," ruled the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg on Thursday, July 2.
The proceedings began back in 2018, when the European Commission concluded that Google had imposed illegal restrictions on manufacturers of Android-based mobile devices and mobile network operators to strengthen the dominant position of its search engine. Initially, the European Commission imposed a fine of 4.34 billion euros on the company.
The European General Court in 2022 upheld the European Commission's decision on the fine but reduced its amount to 4.125 billion euros. During the new review, Google tried to challenge the decision, claiming errors made by the court of first instance in assessing the circumstances of the case. However, the EU Court in Luxembourg, the highest European judicial instance, sided with the antitrust authorities.
Google representatives have already called the lawsuit unfounded, accusing the court of not taking into account the company's investments in the openness of Android for users. Earlier, the company accused the EU that Brussels turns a blind eye to Apple's similar practice of promoting its own services on the iPhone.
This case is just one of several antitrust disputes between Google and the European Union. The fine imposed on the company became a record during the work of EU antitrust authorities, notes Reuters. Over the past ten years, Google has been fined nearly 11 billion euros in the EU for various violations of antitrust legislation.