EU’s top court upholds €4.1B Android antitrust fine against Google

Europe’s Court of Justice has dismissed Google’s final appeal, confirming the €4.1 billion fine for anticompetitive Android practices. Regulators argued that Google used restrictive contracts requiring manufacturers to pre‑install Google Search, Chrome, and Play Store, preventing them from offering competing systems. A lower court had already reduced the original €4.34 billion fine to €4.1 billion in 2022, but the core finding — that Google abused its dominant position — remains fully upheld.

Google says the ruling ignores its efforts to keep Android “open, interoperable and free,” but the decision ends an eight‑year legal battle and strengthens the EU’s broader crackdown on Big Tech. The company has accumulated nearly €11 billion in EU antitrust fines over the past decade and still faces fresh investigations under the Digital Markets Act, including allegations of unfairly favoring its own services and limiting alternative payment options.

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