Google has lost its final appeal against a record-breaking $4.7 billion antitrust fine imposed by the European Union, marking a significant victory for overseas regulators targeting Big Tech.
The EU's Court of Justice dismissed Google's appeal of a 2018 European Commission ruling that found the company engaged in anti-competitive practices. The ruling specifically addressed Google's promotion of its own Search and Chrome applications on Android devices.
"The Court of Justice dismisses the appeal brought by Google and Alphabet against that judgment of the General Court, thereby confirming the penalty imposed on them, as revised by the General Court, for their anticompetitive practices relating to the Android operating system," the EU Court of Justice stated Thursday.
Shares in Alphabet, Google's parent company, saw a 1.3% decline following the decision.
The landmark ruling, which Google had been contesting, argued that the Silicon Valley tech giant exploited its substantial share of the smartphone market by pre-installing its applications on Android devices. This protracted legal battle, which lasted eight years, has now concluded with no further avenues for appeal available to Google.
A Google spokesperson stated, "Android provides more choice for everyone and supports thousands of businesses. This judgment fails to recognize our significant investment to ensure Android remains open, interoperable and free. In any event, we adapted our agreements to comply with the initial decision back in 2018 and we remain focused on continued innovation and openness for our users, partners and developers."
Previously, Google had attempted to comply with the Commission's antitrust concerns by enabling Android users to choose between different search engines and browsers, rather than being limited to Google's own services. The imposed fine, totaling 4.1 billion euros after a revision from an initial 4.34 billion euros, is one of several penalties the EU has levied against Google for alleged anti-competitive behavior over the past decade. Last year, the EU fined Google 3 billion euros ($3.45 billion) for alleged self-preferencing in its advertising technology business.