EU court adviser supports €4.1B antitrust fine against Google, calling its appeal ineffective. Final ruling expected in coming months.
Legal Momentum Favors EU Regulators
Alphabet’s Google suffered a legal blow on Thursday as a top adviser to Europe’s highest court sided with EU antitrust regulators in their long-standing case against the tech giant. The adviser urged the court to uphold a €4.1 billion fine—originally €4.34 billion—over Google’s use of its Android operating system to stifle competition.
Case Rooted in Android Market Dominance
The European Commission first imposed the fine in 2018, accusing Google of leveraging Android to strengthen its dominance in search and browser markets. Regulators said Google required device manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and Chrome along with the Play Store, and restricted them from using rival versions of Android. The violations were said to have occurred from 2011 onward.
A lower court upheld the Commission’s findings in 2022 but slightly reduced the penalty. Google subsequently appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
Adviser Rejects Google’s Arguments
Juliane Kokott, Advocate-General at the CJEU, issued a non-binding opinion recommending dismissal of Google’s appeal. She concluded that Google’s legal arguments were “ineffective” and found its request to compare its market behavior with a theoretical competitor “not realistic.”
“Google held a dominant position in several markets of the Android ecosystem,” Kokott said, citing the company’s advantage through entrenched network effects.
Google Pushes Back on Opinion
Reacting to the development, a Google spokesperson said the company was “disappointed” with the opinion, warning it could “discourage investment in open platforms and harm Android users, partners and app developers.”
Despite Android being open-source and free to use, regulators argue Google’s contractual terms effectively shut out competition in mobile search and browser markets.
Broader Implications for Big Tech
While Kokott’s opinion is not binding, the CJEU follows such advice in about 80% of cases. A final judgment is expected in the coming months and could have lasting implications for platform regulation across Europe.
Google has already accrued €8.25 billion in fines from three major EU antitrust investigations in the last decade. Additional probes into its advertising business and compliance with the EU’s new Digital Markets Act are still underway.
As the legal battle continues, the outcome could shape the future enforcement of tech competition rules in Europe’s digital economy.
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