Google loses protracted antitrust fight and will have to pay record-breaking €4.1 billion fine equivalent to less than 3% of Alphabet's annual profit

Google has lost another protracted antitrust fight in the EU. Back in 2018, the European Commission fined the company billions of euros over agreements that forced phone manufacturers to pre-load only Google products like Search, Chrome, and the Play app ​store on their Android devices, to the exclusion of rival products from competitors. Google has fought the fine up until yesterday.

Given how many of PC Gamer's own readers probably found this news story via any one of Google's products on their phone, this case remains a huge deal. Google originally faced a fine of €4.34 billion, but a lower tribunal revised this down to a still significant €4.1 billion in 2022.

Google then appealed this to the highest authority it could in Europe, the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union. The court has since dismissed Google's appeal and sided with the European Commission (via Reuters).

That means Google will still have to pay a historic fine. The press release (PDF warning) regarding the judgement reads, "The appeal brought by Google and its parent company Alphabet against the judgment of the General Court is dismissed, thereby confirming the penalty imposed for Google Search’s abuse of a dominant position in the context of the Android operating system."

Over the last ten years, Google has racked up a total of €11 billion in fines for various antitrust infringements within the EU, though the most recent €4.1 billion fine (about $4.7 billion) remains a record-breaker. That said, this only amounts to comfortably under 3% of parent company Alphabet's annual profit. It's arguably still a win, though, and other antitrust regulators may be motivated to seek further damages from the Search giant as a result.

Earlier this year, the European Commission sought to enforce the Digital Markets Act by proposing that Google share its search data with third-party search engines. This would be similar to the data-sharing remedy proposed as part of the US antitrust ruling against Google back in 2024. Earlier this year, Google sought not only to appeal this ruling but also to delay any sharing of data on the grounds that this would "irreparably harm Google because competitors will gain access to vast amounts of Google’s proprietary information."

A Google spokesperson said of this week's court ruling, "Android provides more choice for everyone and supports thousands of businesses. This judgment fails to recognise our significant investment to ensure Android remains open, interoperable and free."

Google goes on to add, "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."