September 15, 2022
An EU court upheld an antitrust ruling against Google but reduced the record fine imposed on the company from €4.34 billion to €4.125 billion.
The court stated that it upheld the Commission’s decision that Google had imposed illegal restrictions on Android mobile device and mobile network manufacturers in order to consolidate its search engine’s dominant position. It also stated that Google’s business model “is primarily based on increasing the number of users of its online search services in order to sell its online advertising services.”
A European Commission spokesman said the Commission would “carefully study the judgment and decide on possible next steps.”
Google has since changed its terms of service but remains disappointed by the ruling because it believes Android has increased choice for all, not diminished it, and supports thousands of successful businesses around the world.
Google claimed it behaved like any other company when it told other Android manufacturers that in order to integrate the Play Store on their smartphones and tablets, they also had to pre-install Google’s own search and web apps. Without it, the devices would have had limited access to other apps, which would have made them much less attractive to buyers.
The sources for this piece include an article in BBC.
