EU Court Confirms €4.1 Billion Fine on Google While Google Maintains Android Offers User Choice

The Court of Justice of the European Union on Thursday dismissed an appeal by Google and Alphabet against a €4.1 billion fine for anticompetitive practices related to the Android operating system. The ruling confirms the penalty originally set by the European Commission in 2018 and later revised downward by the General Court.

The commission had determined that Google abused its dominant position through pre-installation agreements that favored its search engine and Chrome browser on Android devices sold in Europe.

An initial fine of €4.34 billion was reduced to €4.1 billion in 2022. The Court of Justice stated that it dismisses the appeal brought by Google and Alphabet, thereby confirming the penalty imposed on them as revised by the General Court. The commission calculated the fine based on Google's revenue from search advertising on Android in the European Economic Area and ordered the company to end the conduct within 90 days of the 2018 decision.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in 2018 that the commission's decision "misses just how much choice Android provides" to phone makers, app developers, and customers. Google has accumulated close to €11 billion in EU fines over various antitrust infringements.

The European Commission imposed a separate €2.95 billion fine on Google in 2025 for alleged anticompetitive practices in its advertising technology business, according to CNBC reporting.

Google was also levied a €2.4 billion fine over its shopping search practices in 2017 and lost its final appeal in that case in 2024.