A 4.1 billion euro fine for Google from 2018 will stand. Google’s appeal was rejected by the court.
Google will have to cough up 4.1 billion euros for abuse of power with Android. The European Commission already penalized Google in 2018 because it forced smartphone manufacturers to install a bundle of its own applications, such as its search engine, Chrome, and the app store. This made it harder for providers of similar services to gain a foothold in Android.
After a years-long legal battle, the fine has now been definitively upheld. Google used every means at its disposal in the fight to escape the fine. The amount of the fine was reduced from 4.3 billion to 4.1 billion euros. The lawsuit eventually reached the Court of Justice in Luxembourg, which ruled in favor of the Commission. This also puts an end to Google’s options for further appeal.
Lesson not learned
Google responds that it has invested heavily since 2018 to promote competition in Android. Under legislation such as the DMA, it is also required to do so. However, Google has not yet fully learned its lesson: the Commission started a procedure against Google this year because it favors its own AI assistant, Gemini, in Android.
In total, Google has already been fined eleven billion euros by Europe for anti-competitive behavior. The European Commission is also trying to curb Google’s search dominance. Due to the many legal means Google has at its disposal to challenge such sanctions, it often takes years before a fine can effectively be collected.
Too little, too late
European sanctions therefore primarily serve as a signal to tech giants that there are limits, rather than effectively causing market shifts. They are inevitably always a bit too little, too late. After all, Google’s dominance has long been set in stone, and four billion is just a pittance compared to what it rakes in every quarter.