On Monday, Google launched an appeal against a €4.34 billion fine imposed on it by the European Commission for allegedly forcing Android and network operators to pre-install Google Search and Chrome, in an attempt to consolidate its dominant position in general web search.
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Three years later, the €4.34 billion fine remains the largest antitrust fine ever imposed by the European Commission.
When the fine was first issued, Commissioner Margrethe Vestager found that Google imposed three types of restrictions on Android device manufacturers and network operators to ensure that Android devices direct users to Google's search engine.
The European Commission found that the company: Requiring manufacturers to pre-install the Google Search app and Chrome as a condition for licensing its Play Store app store. Making payments to certain major manufacturers and mobile network operators on the condition that they pre-install exclusively the Google Search app on their devices, and preventing manufacturers from pre-installing Google apps on devices running alternative versions of Android that were not approved by the company.
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The appeal, which will last until Friday, will seek to overturn the fine on the grounds that the Commission erred in its assessment of Google's position in the smartphone market, with the company arguing that Android and the Play Store are not as dominant as it presents them to be.
Google also claimed that it has not abused its dominant market position in general search services to force companies to pre-install its apps.
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Since 2017, the Commission has imposed fines worth more than €8 billion on Google for alleged anti-competitive behaviour. In addition to the €4.34 billion fine, the Commission imposed a €2.42 billion fine in 2017 for abusing the company's dominance as a search engine by giving an illegal advantage to Google's own comparison shopping service. It then fined it almost €1.5 billion for allegedly imposing certain restrictive clauses in contracts with third-party websites that prevented Google's rivals from placing search ads on those websites.
