Google’s quest to reverse a multibillion-dollar European Union antitrust penalty concerning Android was severely hampered Thursday when the legal adviser for a high court sided with authorities.
In a non-binding judgment, Juliane Kokott, the advocate general for the European Court of Justice, suggested that Google’s appeal against the sentence of over 4 billion euros ($4.7 billion) be denied.
The lawsuit started in 2018, when the European Union’s executive commission fined Google 4.134 billion euros for using its mobile Android operating system dominance to stifle competition and limit customer choice.
Google appealed to the Court of Justice after a lower court reduced the penalty to 4.125 billion euros in 2022 following its initial appeal.
According to a news statement outlining her views, Kokott recommended that the Court of Justice affirm the lower court’s decision and confirm the fine.
Google expressed its disappointment with the ruling, stating that if the court were to follow it, it “would discourage investment in open platforms and harm Android users, partners, and app developers.”
The company stated that
“Android has given everyone more options and supports thousands of successful businesses in Europe and around the world.”
Although the advocate general’s opinions are not legally binding, judges frequently abide by them.
The judges in this case are currently starting to deliberate. The court stated that a later date will be the date of the judgment.
In the past ten years, as the 27-nation union began to crack down on Big Tech giants, the European Commission has imposed three antitrust penalties totaling more than 8 billion euros on Google.
