EU Court of Justice Upholds €4.1 Billion Fine in Google Antitrust Case

The EU Court of Justice ruled today that the €4.1 billion fine levied against Google for its Search abuses will stand, denying the company’s appeal.

“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 announced. “[We] confirm the penalty imposed for Google Search’s abuse of a dominant position in the context of the Android operating system.”

This antitrust case dates back to 2018, when Google was found guilty of forcing its Android hardware partners to pre-install Google Search and Chrome, illegally paying some partners for preferential treatment, and preventing hardware makers from installing Android alternatives. It was originally fined €4.34 billion, but that amount was lowered to €4.125 billion by the EU General Court in 2022. Google appealed the case and went to court in 2025.

This is the biggest fine the EU has levied on Google, though it faces a €2.95 billion fine for its advertising abuses and a €2.4 billion fine for abuses tied to online shopping too.

Google disagrees with the decision, of course, but it has already changed its abusive business practices to address the EU’s complaint.

“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,” a Google statement notes.