EU court backs EU antitrust decision against Google, trims fine

A view of the main lobby of building BV200, during a tour of Google’s new Bay View Campus in Mountain View, California, U.S. May 16, 2022. REUTERS/Peter DaSilva/File Photo

LUXEMBOURG – Europe’s second-top court on Wednesday upheld an EU antitrust decision against Alphabet unit Google for using its Android mobile operating system to quash rivals but trimmed the record fine to 4.125 billion euros ($4.12 billion) from 4.34 billion.

“The General Court largely confirms the Commission’s decision that Google imposed unlawful restrictions on manufacturers of Android mobile devices and mobile network operators in order to consolidate the dominant position of its search engine,” the court said.

“In order better to reflect the gravity and duration of the infringement, the General Court considers it appropriate however to impose a fine of €4.125 billion on Google, its reasoning differing in certain respects from that of the Commission,” judges said.

The case is T-604/18 Google vs European Commission.

($1 = 1.0012 euros)