Europe’s highest court has dismissed Google’s last legal challenge to a €4.1 billion antitrust fine, closing an eight year legal battle over how the company used its Android operating system to protect the dominance of its search engine.
The Court of Justice of the European Union announced the decision last week, with no further option and court to appeal to. The penalty, among the largest antitrust fines ever imposed on a technology company in Europe, is now final and enforceable.
What Google Was Fined For
The case traces back to 2018, when the European Commission accused Google of abusing its dominant position in mobile operating systems. Regulators found that Google required phone manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and Chrome as a condition of getting access to the Play Store, Android’s app marketplace.
With Android running on more than 75% of phones sold in Europe at the time, regulators concluded these practices locked competitors out of the search engine market regardless of how good their products were.
How the Fine Moved From €4.34 Billion to €4.1 Billion
The Commission’s original 2018 penalty was €4.34 billion. In 2022, the EU’s General Court reviewed the case and trimmed the fine slightly to €4.1 billion, mainly over how some revenue sharing agreements were assessed. But the General Court still left the core finding of illegal conduct fully intact.
Google then took its case to the Court of Justice, the EU’s court of last resort, arguing that Android’s openness to third party customization should have counted in its favor. The court rejected that argument, stating that the lower court had correctly assessed the anticompetitive effects of the pre-installation agreements and had properly justified the size of the fine.
Why the Case Isn’t Really Over
A final ruling from the EU’s top court does more than close out an appeal. Under the EU’s Antitrust Damages Directive, companies that lost business because of Google’s Android practices between 2011 and 2018 can now bring civil damages claims and rely on the court’s finding of illegality as already established, rather than having to prove the violation themselves. That removes one of the biggest hurdles rivals typically face in suing a company like Google.
The ruling also lands while Google is already dealing with other EU competition problems. In September 2024, the same court upheld a separate €2.4 billion fine tied to how Google favored its own shopping comparison service. A €2.95 billion fine over Google’s advertising technology business followed in 2025, and Google is contesting that one separately across 17 grounds of appeal.
Google has said it disagrees with the ruling, maintaining that Android has expanded consumer choice rather than restricted it. However, the €4.1 billion fine stands, at least for now, and it is likely to become the opening reference point for a new wave of damages claims the EU will stand on.
