Brussels – Google will have to pay 4.1 billion euros for breaching EU competition rules. The Court of Justice of the European Union has upheld the claims made by the European Commission and the Advocate General, issuing a judgment against the web giant, which is now final, finding it guilty of abuse of a dominant position. Through pre-installation agreements and the licence terms for certain apps, the well-known internet operator ensured that its Google Search engine and Chrome browser were given priority on mobile devices running Google’s Android operating system.
Google effectively imposed the use of its Android operating system and related apps, requiring smartphone and tablet manufacturers to pre-install its technologies and preventing the sale of devices running alternative operating systems. These are all illegal practices, which the European Court of Justice has today (2 July) confirmed in its ruling.
The judges in Luxembourg have dismissed Google’s appeal seeking review of the judgment handed down by the General Court in September 2022; in light of the Court of Justice’s ruling, that judgment will not be reviewed. The case is closed, and Google will have to pay the hefty fine, already imposed in 2018, although this amount has been the subject of disputes that have dragged the litigation on until now.
“The General Court did not err in law when assessing the anticompetitive effects of the pre-installation conditions laid down by the Android agreements,” the Court of Justice said, upholding the fine running into the billions.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
