European justice confirms €4.125 billion fine imposed on Google

The Court of Justice of the European Union (TJUE) on Thursday endorsed the EUR 4.25 billion fine imposed on multinational Google for abusing its dominant position through its Android operating system, the highest fine ever imposed in an antitrust case in the European Union.

In its ruling, the TJUE dismissed the appeal filed by Google and its matrix, Alphabet, and insisted that the technology company imposed illegal restrictions on Android device manufacturers to strengthen the dominant position of the Google Search search engine and Chrome browser.

The Luxembourg Court has thus finalised a case of more than ten years , as the European Commission opened the relevant investigation in 2015 and three years later, in 2018, announced a fine of EUR 4.343 billion.

What are the keys to the case?

• Distribution Agreements\u00A0between the US company and mobile device manufacturers: Manufacturers had to pre-install Google Search and Chrome to obtain a license to operate the Play Store app store.
• "Anti-fragmentation agreements ": clauses that Google included in contracts that conditioned Google Search and Play Store licenses for manufacturers to refuse to sell phones with unauthorized alternative versions of Android.
• "Revenue SharingAgreements  ": Manufacturers refused to pre-install other search engines on their devices in exchange for receiving some of Google's advertising revenue.

The European Commission concluded in 2018 that these agreements were "abusive" and therefore illegal because they restrict competition within the single market and restrict or eliminate the ability of other companies to compete against Google. The EU General Court examined the multinational's appeal and reduced the fine to EUR 4.25 billion after overturning aspects related to the distribution of advertising revenue.

What does the sentence say?

In its judgment published this Thursday, the Court of Justice of the European Union validates all the arguments of the first judgment, in particular, it argues that the court 'could have taken into account the entire relevant economic context, without the need for systematic contrast analysis to prove that the ban on abuse of a dominant position has not been complied with'.

It also endorses the General Court's conclusion on pre-installation conditions and states that "proof of abuse of dominant position does not in all cases depend solelyon proof of the ability to expel effective competitors from the market  ".

Thirdly, the Court of Justice of the European Union has upheld that so-called "anti-fragmentation agreements" could "limit the commercial possibilities of non-compatible Android versions  to strengthen Google's dominant position."

Finally, theruling maintains the "single and continuing infringement" rating , despite the fact that the General Court overturned certain aspects relating to revenue distribution because the other abuses were part of the same anti-competitive strategy.