Google challenges $5 bn fine imposed by European Union

Alphabet unit Google on Tuesday challenged a 4.34-billion euro or $5 billion fine imposed by European Union antitrust regulators three months ago for using its Android mobile operating system to thwart rivals.
Google Android dominance“We have now filed our appeal of the EC’s Android decision at the General Court of the EU,” Google said in an email. It had previously said it would take the case to Europe’s second highest court in Luxembourg.

The company referred to arguments put forward by CEO Sundar Pichai on the day of the EU ruling in July, of which the main one is that Android has created more choice for consumers, not less.

The European Commission in its July decision said Google had abused its market dominance since 2011. Android, used by device makers for free, is found on about 80 percent of the world’s smartphones.

EU competition enforcers had said Google’s illegal practices included forcing manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and its Chrome browser together with its Google Play app store on their Android devices, Reuters reported.

The EU antitrust authorities said the company paid manufacturers to pre-install only Google Search and blocked them from using rival Android systems.

Related News

Latest News

Latest News