Google Loses EU Appeal Over Antitrust Ruling On $4.12B Fine

The European Union’s General Court on Wednesday upheld an antitrust ruling against Google’s parent company, Alphabet, but reduced its fine to 4.125 billion euros ($4.12 billion) from 4.34 billion euros.

The dispute between Google and the EU courts is over whether it uses the Android operating system to quash competition, and was initiated against the company in 2015.

The court said it “largely confirms the European Commission’s decision that Google imposed unlawful restrictions on manufacturers of Android mobile devices and mobile network operators to consolidate the dominant position of its search engine.”

In a statement provided to CNBC, Google said: “We are disappointed that the Court did not annul the decision in full. Android has created more choice for everyone, not less, and supports thousands of successful businesses in Europe and around the world.” 

The initial fine was issued by the European Commission in 2018 and was the largest ever for Google. It said that around 80% of Europeans used Android and that Google gave an unfair advantage to its apps, such as Chrome and Search, by forcing smartphone makers to pre-install them in a bundle with its app store, Play.

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