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Google’s hopes of overturning a record EU competition fine were dealt a severe blow on Thursday, after an adviser to Europe’s top court agreed with Brussels regulators that the tech giant had used its Android mobile phone operating system to squash rivals.
Juliane Kokott, advocate-general of the European Court of Justice, the EU’s highest court, said that a €4.12bn fine issued against the US company should be upheld.
While not legally binding, the majority of such opinions are followed by the ECJ. A ruling by the court is expected in the coming months.
“Google held a dominant position in several markets of the Android ecosystem and thus benefited from network effects that enabled it to ensure that users used Google Search,” said Kokott. “As a result, Google obtained access to data that enabled it to turn to improve its service.”
The win provides a boost to the European Commission, which is seeking to enforce tough new rules aimed at holding the world’s largest tech companies to account.
The Android case dates back to 2018, when the EU accused Google of imposing illegal restrictions on Android device makers and mobile network operators “to cement its dominant position” in internet search.
Google said it was “disappointed” with the opinion. “Android has created more choice for everyone and supports thousands of successful businesses in Europe and around the world,” it added.
The European Commission declined to comment.
The initial fine issued by the European Commission was €4.34bn. When Google challenged that penalty, the General Court in 2022 ruled mostly in favour of Brussels’ decision but reduced it slightly to €4.12bn, a decision the Big Tech group also appealed against.
Kokott on Thursday advised the ECJ to dismiss Google’s appeal, stating that “the legal arguments put forward by Google are ineffective”.
The fine was part of a trio of cases against Alphabet-owned Google, which has seen regulators fine the company a total of €8bn over the past decade.
The EU’s top court has already backed the bloc’s decision to fine the tech giant €2.42bn for favouring its own comparison shopping service ahead of rivals, which can no longer be appealed against.
But Google did win its appeal against a €1.5bn fine from 2019 for blocking competitors in the online advertising market, which the General Court annulled last year.
Separately, the EU is wrapping up its investigation into Google’s online advertising technology, which it launched in 2023.
