An EU court adviser has backed a €4.12bn competition fine against Google, dealing a blow to the tech giant’s chances of overturning it.
The Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has announced its advocate general Juliane Kokott has advised the court to dismiss Google’s appeal to overturn a €4.34bn anticompetitive fine imposed on the Alphabet-owned company in 2018.
She said the reduced fine of €4.12bn set by the General Court in 2022 following an initial appeal by Google should be upheld.
In 2018, the European Commission imposed a €4.34bn fine following findings by Brussels regulators that Google had “abused its dominant position”. The findings revealed that Google had used its Android mobile phone operating system to block rivals since 2011.
The commission accused Google of “protecting and strengthening its dominant position” in internet search.
This was deemed illegal under European law, hence the hefty fine.
Kokott dismissed Google’s previous argument that regulators...