Google on Brink of Losing $4.1 Billion Antitrust Case Appeal as EU Advisor Supports Regulator

Google has suffered a major setback in the EU after an advisor of the region’s highest court advised that its appeal against a €4.1 billion antitrust fine be thrown out, CNBC reported. The fine in Google’s antitrust case relates to a long-running antitrust case regarding its Android operating system.

EU Antitrust Fine Arguments

The European Commission imposed the fine on Google in 2018 over claims that the search giant abused its Android dominance. The Commission alleged that this gave the tech company an unfair advantage over other apps due to the pre-installation deals it has with smartphone manufacturers.

The EU’s General Court reduced Google’s fine from €4.34 billion to €4.1 billion in 2022, prompting the search giant to appeal the ruling. According to the European Court of Justice advocate general Juliane Kokott, the court should confirm Google’s antitrust fine.

“In her Opinion delivered today, Advocate General Kokott proposes that the Court of Justice dismiss Google’s appeal and, therefore, uphold the judgment of the General Court,” the ECJ said.

According to Kokott “the legal arguments put forward by Google are ineffective.” In her view, Google’s monopoly case argument that watchdogs should compare it with rivals while assessing the situation is unrealistic.

“It is not realistic, in the present case, to compare the situation of Google with that of a hypothetical as-efficient competitor. Google held a dominant position in several markets of the Android-ecosystem and thus benefited from network effects that enabled it to ensure that users used Google Search,” she said.

Google’s Reaction

Google has expressed disappointment with the advice from ECJ. The search giant said the advice will have far reaching impacts because it will discourage investment in open platforms.

“Android has created more choice for everyone and supports thousands of successful businesses in Europe and around the world. We are disappointed with the Opinion which, if it were followed by the Court, would discourage investment in open platforms and harm Android users, partners and app developers,” Google Spokesperson said.

Although the advice by the advocate general is not binding, there is a chance that judges will follow it. Previously, judges have followed four out of five non-binding opinions issued. The ECJ will be issuing the final ruling in the coming months.
Antitrust watchdogs claim that illegal practices by Google date back to 2011. The tech giant has been accused of requiring device makers to pre-install its Chrome browser and Search alongside its Play app store on Android gadgets.

Google has also been accused of paying manufacturers to pre-install Google Search, a move that blocks users from using rival Android systems. Google allows device makers to use its Android system free of charge. According to Startcounter, the system runs about 73% of the smartphones in the world.

Multiple Antitrust Cases

Google continues to face antitrust cases in different countries. In the US, the tech giant has been undergoing trial after a US federal Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google is an illegal monopoly.

The ruling paved the way for the remedies phase in the Google search dominance trial starting April 21. Last month, the Department of Justice and Alphabet made their final submissions in the case. Closing arguments focused on whether the search giant should adopt measures to restore online search competition or be compelled to sell its Chrome browser.

In April, Google was sued in the UK for $6.6 billion in potential damages. The company was sued over allegations of abuse of its dominance in the digital search market to charge more for adverts appearing in search inquiries than it would in a competitive market.