Google Appeals Again The Big $4.33 Billion EU Antitrust Fine

EU and US regulators have been particularly active on big tech companies lately. However, this isn’t exactly a new trend, as we’ve seen record fines several years ago. Google was hit by an antitrust fine by the EU that totals €4.3 billion and is now fighting it.

Google to fight €4.33 billion antitrust fine imposed by EU over Android business model

In 2018, the EU fined Google €4.3 billion (about $4.5 billion) for its business practices in the mobile OS segment that, according to regulators, negatively impacted competition. Google tried to appeal the fine to a lower court, asking the judges to overturn the European Commission’s decision. However, the company only managed to get it reduced, now at €4.1 billion. Anyway, the Mountain View giant isn’t happy with that and wants to get rid of the big fine altogether.

In a new appeal, Google lawyer Alfonso Lamadrid told the court: “Google does not contest or shy away from its responsibility under the law, but the Commission also has a responsibility when it runs investigations, when it seeks to reshape markets and second-guess pro-competitive business models, and when it imposes multi-billion-euro fines.”

“In this case, the Commission failed to discharge its burden and its responsibility and, relying on multiple errors of law, punished Google for its superior merits, attractiveness and innovation,” he added.

Google’s deals with Android phone makers, the main problem

The European Commission used Google’s deals with Android manufacturers as the main argument for the sanction against the company. These deals involved the pre-installation of apps such as Google, Chrome, and the Google Play Store. They also prevented the use of operating systems that were direct rivals of Android. These conditions were necessary to grant the Google Play license that grants access to the company’s app store, something of great importance in the Western market. The European antitrust authorities claimed that these requirements impeded free competition.

However, Google does not agree with the EU’s claims. “These agreements and conditions did not restrict competition, they fostered it,” Lamadrid argued before the court.

The final ruling on the matter will come in the next few months. Whatever the outcome, Google will no longer be able to appeal the ruling.