The European Court of Justice upholds cartel rulings against Google, but reduces the fine

The Court of Justice of the European Union on Wednesday upheld an antitrust ruling against Google’s parent company Alphabet, but reduced the fine to 4.125 billion euros ($4.12 billion) from 4.34 billion euros.

The dispute between Google and the EU courts is about whether it uses the Android operating system to stop competition, and was launched against the company in 2015.

The court said it “largely upholds the European Commission’s decision that Google imposed unlawful restrictions on Android mobile device manufacturers and mobile network operators in order to consolidate the dominant position of its search engine.”

In a statement to Reuters, Google said: “We are disappointed that the court did not overturn the decision in full. Android has created more choice for everyone, not less, and supports thousands of successful businesses in Europe and around the world.”

The original fine was issued by the European Commission in 2018 and was the largest ever received by Google. It said around 80% of Europeans used Android and that Google gave an unfair advantage to its apps, such as Chrome and Search, by forcing smartphone markets to pre-install them in a bundle with its app store, Play.

Google claims that Android phones compete with iOS phones, Apple’s operating system, and that consumers using Android still allow consumers to choose their phone manufacturer, mobile network operator, and the ability to remove Google apps and install others.

In Wednesday’s ruling, the Court said the new fine was “appropriate given the significance of the infringement.”

It highlighted that Google’s business model is “primarily based on increasing the number of users of its online search services so that it can sell its online advertising services”, whereas Apple focuses on selling higher quality smart mobile devices.

Google claims that this allows it to keep the majority of its services free.

The company can still appeal the verdict in the EU’s highest court.