Google’s legal battle with European regulators has taken a major hit after an adviser to the European Union’s top court recommended upholding a €4.1 billion fine over the company’s alleged abuse of its dominant position in the Android mobile operating system market.
Advocate-General Juliane Kokott of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued a non-binding opinion urging the court to dismiss Google’s appeal and maintain the penalty imposed by the European Commission in 2018. The fine, initially set at €4.34 billion, was later reduced to €4.1 billion by a lower EU tribunal in 2022.
“The legal arguments put forward by Google are ineffective,” Kokott said, rejecting the tech giant’s claim that regulators should have assessed its conduct by comparing it to a hypothetical, equally efficient competitor. “It is not realistic, in the present case, to compare the situation of Google with that of a hypothetical as-efficient competitor,” she added. “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.”
The European Commission accused Google of using its Android operating system—installed on approximately 73% of smartphones globally—to stifle competition. Since 2011, the Commission claimed, Google required phone manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and Chrome as a condition for access to the Google Play Store, paid manufacturers to exclusively feature Google Search, and restricted access to competing versions of Android.
The CJEU judges typically follow the recommendations of the Advocate-General in about 80% of cases. A final ruling is expected in the coming months.
Reacting to the development, a Google spokesperson expressed disappointment with the opinion, stating: “Android has created more choice for everyone and supports thousands of successful businesses in Europe and around the world. We are disappointed with the Opinion which, if it were followed by the Court, would discourage investment in open platforms and harm Android users, partners, and app developers.”
