Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., lost its long-running legal battle on Thursday to challenge the European Union's record fine imposed on it for using Android OS to block competitors.
The court ruling is likely to strengthen enforcement against major European tech companies.
The EU's competition authority initially imposed a fine of €4.34 billion on Google in 2018.
Google was fined for bundling Google Search, Chrome Browser, and Google Play app store on Android devices made by phone manufacturers, and for agreements that prevented manufacturers from using competing systems. An appeals court later reduced the fine to €4.1 billion, but Europe's highest court has now rejected Google's appeal and upheld the fine.
Although the record fine represents less than 3 percent of Alphabet's annual profit, this defeat could embolden other regulators and companies to seek damages from Google.
A Google spokesperson stated that the court failed to consider the company's free and open-source investments in the Android system, and clarified that Google has made adjustments in compliance with regulations since 2018.
Ref: Bangkokpost
