Europe's top court has dismissed Google's appeal against a €4.1bn (£3.5bn) fine, the largest penalty the European Commission has ever imposed on the tech giant, for using its Android mobile operating system to block rivals.
The original fine of €4.3bn (then £3.9bn) was handed down in 2018 and trimmed to €4.1bn in 2022. The court's ruling means Google must now pay the sum in full.
“Europe's top court upholds record €4.1bn fine on Google for using Android to block rivals.”
A Google spokesperson said the judgment “fails to recognise” the company's “significant investment to ensure Android remains open, interoperable and free”. They added: “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.”
The Commission had alleged three forms of illegal conduct: requiring manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and Chrome as a condition for offering the Play app store; making payments to large manufacturers and mobile operators for exclusive pre-installation of Google Search; and threatening to refuse permission to pre-install Google apps if manufacturers sold devices powered by alternative “forked” versions of Android. The court acknowledged that Google's version of Android does not prevent users from downloading alternative browsers or search engines.
Google's chief executive, Sundar Pichai, blogged at the time of the original fine that the decision “rejects the business model that supports Android, which has created more choice for everyone, not less.”
This is not the first antitrust battle between Google and Brussels. In September 2024, the Commission fined Google €2.4bn (£2bn) for abusing the dominance of its shopping-comparison service. A year later, in September 2025, it levied a further €2.95bn (£2.5bn) fine for favouring its own products in online advertising.
Despite the record penalty, the fine is not the largest ever imposed on Google overall. In October 2024, a Russian court fined the company two undecillion roubles – more than the world's total GDP – for restricting Russian state media channels on YouTube.