Europe’s top court has ruled that Google must pay a €4.1bn (£3.5bn) fine for using its Android mobile operating system to block rivals — the largest penalty the European Commission has ever imposed against the tech giant.
The fine was originally set at €4.3bn (then £3.9bn) in 2018, but was trimmed to €4.1bn in 2022. An appeal brought by Google has now been dismissed, leaving the company with no further recourse in the EU courts.
“Europe's top court upheld a record €4.1bn fine against Google for blocking rivals via Android.”
A Google spokesperson said the judgement “fails to recognise” the firm’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.”
When the fine was first announced, the Commission alleged three illegal practices: requiring Android handset and tablet manufacturers to pre-install the Google Search app and its Chrome browser as a condition of offering access to the Play app store; making payments to large manufacturers and mobile network operators that agreed to exclusively pre-install the Google Search app; and preventing manufacturers from selling devices powered by alternative “forked” versions of Android by threatening to refuse them permission to pre-install its apps.
It was acknowledged that Google’s version of Android does not prevent device owners from downloading alternative web browsers or using other search engines.
Google’s chief executive, Sundar Pichai, blogged in response to 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 case Google has faced from Brussels. In September 2024, the Commission ruled that Google must pay a €2.4bn (£2bn) fine for abusing the market dominance of its shopping-comparison service. Then, in September 2025, it fined the search giant €2.95bn (£2.5bn) for favouring its own products in online ad display, to the detriment of rivals.
While the €4.1bn fine is a record for the Commission, it is not the largest ever imposed on Google. 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.