This time, there will be no further appeal. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), based in Luxembourg, definitively upheld on 2 July the fine of €4.125bn imposed on Google for anti-competitive practices relating to its Android operating system. By dismissing the appeal lodged by Google and its parent company Alphabet, Europe’s highest court has brought one of the most significant competition cases in the history of the EU to a close.
The case dates back to July 2018, when the European Commission imposed a record fine of €4.343bn. Brussels accused the US giant of using Android to strengthen the dominance of its Google Search engine. In practical terms, smartphone manufacturers were required to pre-install Google Search and the Chrome browser in order to obtain a licence granting them access to the Play Store, the app shop that is essential to the Android ecosystem. Google also imposed clauses preventing manufacturers from marketing devices equipped with alternative versions of Android.
Last year, the matter already seemed all but settled. In an opinion delivered on 19 June 2025, Advocate General Juliane Kokott recommended that the Court uphold the judgment of the General Court of the European Union and maintain the fine, which had been reduced to €4.124bn following a partial reduction decided in 2022. As is often the case, the Court ultimately followed this analysis.
Proven anti-competitive effects
In its judgment, the CJEU finds that the General Court did not err in law. In particular, the judges confirm that the pre-installation of Google apps created a ‘status quo bias’ favouring the group’s services, discouraging users from opting for competing solutions. They also upheld the so-called ‘anti-fragmentation’ agreements, which restricted the distribution of versions of Android not approved by Google, as well as the classification of the infringement as a ‘single and continuous infringement’, despite the partial annulment of one aspect of the case in 2022.
The Court also confirmed that the European authorities were not obliged to demonstrate precisely what would have happened had these practices not been in place. Given the specific characteristics of digital markets and Google’s dominant position, the anti-competitive effects were sufficiently established to justify the penalty.
This decision brings to a close proceedings that began nearly eight years ago and marks another major victory for European competition policy. It strengthens Brussels’ ability to sanction the practices of large digital platforms when they use their dominant position to lock out a market – a signal that goes far beyond the Google case alone.
