Google has lost another protracted antitrust fight in the EU. Back in 2018, the European Commission fined the company billions of euros over agreements that forced phone manufacturers to pre-load only Google products like Search, Chrome, and the Play app store on their Android devices, to the exclusion of rival products from competitors. Google has fought the fine up until yesterday.
Given how many of PC Gamer’s own readers probably found this news story via any one of Google’s products on their phone, this case remains a huge deal. Google originally faced a fine of €4.34 billion, but a lower tribunal revised this down to a still significant €4.1 billion in 2022.
Google then appealed this to the highest authority it could in Europe, the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union. The court has since dismissed Google’s appeal and sided with the European Commission (via Reuters).
That means Google will still have to pay a historic fine. The press release (PDF warning) regarding the judgement reads, “The appeal brought by Google and its parent company Alphabet against the judgment of the General Court is dismissed, thereby confirming the penalty imposed for Google Search’s abuse of a dominant position in the context of the Android operating system.”