The European Union’s highest court will rule Thursday on whether to confirm a record 4.1 billion euro fine against Google for anti-competitive conduct involving its Android system. This marks the company’s second effort to reverse the penalty set by the European Commission in 2018, the bloc’s largest antitrust sanction to date. Regulators claimed Google misused Android’s dominance to limit rivals by requiring phone makers to preload its search engine and Chrome browser. The General Court upheld the core findings in 2022 but lowered the amount slightly from 4.3 billion euros. Google now argues before the European Court of Justice that the case lacks merit and discourages innovation. Earlier, the company contended the EU overlooked similar actions by Apple and that users could easily install alternatives. An adviser to the top court advised upholding the fine last June. The dispute forms part of broader EU efforts against large technology firms, including multiple fines totaling 8.2 billion euros from 2017 to 2019. The Digital Markets Act now provides clearer rules for online conduct, leading to fresh investigations and another 2.95 billion euro penalty for Google in September.
