EU Legal Opinion Supports Fine Against Google Over Android Practices

Google may face a setback in its legal challenge as Juliane Kokott, Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), advised the court to uphold a 4.1 billion euro antitrust fine.

The European Commission had originally fined Google 4.34 billion euros in 2018, citing abuse of dominance through its Android operating system. A lower tribunal reduced the fine but upheld the core finding. Kokott rejected Google’s argument that its conduct should be compared with a hypothetical equally efficient competitor. The Commission found that Google required device manufacturers to pre-install Google services, limiting competition.

Final judgement is expected in the coming months. Google stated it was disappointed with the opinion, which it said could affect investment in open platforms.