Google Fined €4.1 Billion by EU Over Android Practices

Google has been ordered to pay a €4.1 billion fine, upholding a penalty imposed by the European Commission for leveraging its Android mobile operating system to restrict rivals. The European Court of Justice dismissed an appeal by the tech giant, confirming the largest fine ever levied against Google by the Commission.

The initial fine of €4.3 billion was issued in 2018 and later adjusted to €4.1 billion in 2022. The Commission's ruling found that Google had illegally implemented three main practices:

• Requiring manufacturers of Android devices to pre-install Google Search and Chrome as a condition for access to the Google Play app store.
• Making payments to manufacturers and mobile network operators to exclusively pre-install Google Search.
• Preventing manufacturers from selling devices that used alternative versions of Android by threatening to withhold access to Google's apps.

Google has stated that the judgment does not acknowledge its investments in keeping Android open and interoperable. The company claims it modified its agreements in 2018 to comply with the initial decision and remains committed to innovation and openness for its users, partners, and developers.

It was noted that the ruling does not prevent device owners from downloading alternative browsers or using other search engines on Android devices.

This is not the first significant fine Google has faced from European regulators. In September 2024, the company was fined €2.4 billion for abusing the market dominance of its shopping comparison service. In September 2025, a separate €2.95 billion fine was issued for breaching competition laws by favoring its own online advertising products.

In a separate case, a Russian court in October 2024 brought charges against Google, ordering a fine of more than the world's GDP for restricting Russian state media channels on YouTube.