Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – On Thursday, an adviser to Europe’s top court backed EU antitrust regulators in their dispute with Google over a record $5.1 billion fine imposed on the U.S. tech giant seven years ago.
The case goes back seven years when the European Commission fined Google 4.3 billion euros for abusing its dominance in the Android mobile operating system market to strengthen the superiority of its search engine.
“Advocate General Kokott proposes that the Court of Justice dismiss Google’s appeal and, therefore, that it confirm the new fine of 4.124 billion euros set by the General Court,”
The Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union said.
Typically, judges follow four out of five such non-binding opinions, and we can expect them to rule on this in the coming months.
If the court were to accept the recommendation of the adviser, it would confirm one of the largest antitrust fines ever levied by the EU on a tech company. The case, registered as C-738/22 P (Google and Alphabet v EU Commission), is an essential episode in the EU’s overarching aim of regulating the power of large technology companies and the promotion of competition in digital marketplaces.
Why did the EU impose a fine on Google?
The original decision by the European Commission in 2018 concluded that Google had imposed illegal restrictions on Android device manufacturers and mobile network operators in order to cement its dominance in general internet search. Specifically, the Commission found that Google required manufacturers to pre-install the Google Search app and the Chrome browser on the condition of licensing the Google Play Store, which ensured that its search engine and browser would be present on almost all Android devices sold in Europe.
Although Google vehemently disputed the fine, the General Court largely accepted the Commission’s decisions, and the Advocate General’s opinion now bolsters the regulators’ case, as appeals will see inevitable delays.
How has Google defended its Android business model?
In February 2025, 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 said.
He upheld Google’s contracts that required phone manufacturers to pre-install Google Search, Chrome browser, and the Google Play app store on their Android devices, and barred them from utilizing competing Android systems.
