Google’s EU Court Fight Over Android Monopoly Hits a Snag

Alphabet’s Google has just taken a serious hit in its long-running battle with the European Union over Android’s dominance. A senior adviser to the EU’s highest court recommended rejecting Google’s appeal against a massive fine — marking a fresh chapter in a saga that’s dragged on for seven years and counting.

A Non-Binding But Influential Setback

In a legal opinion delivered on Thursday, Juliane Kokott (pictured), Advocate-General at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), urged the court to dismiss Google’s appeal and uphold the €4.1 billion fine previously imposed by a lower tribunal. Although Kokott’s opinion isn’t binding, EU judges tend to follow such recommendations in around 80% of cases, giving it significant weight.

“The legal arguments put forward by Google are ineffective,” Kokott stated, dismissing the tech giant’s claim that the European Commission should have compared its practices to those of a similarly efficient competitor. In her view, such a comparison isn’t realistic in this case, as Google’s dominant position across multiple segments of the Android ecosystem gave it the kind of network effects that competitors simply couldn’t match.

The European Commission originally fined Google €4.34 billion in 2018, claiming the company had abused Android’s market position to unfairly block rivals. The lower General Court backed this decision in 2022, though it trimmed the fine slightly to €4.1 billion — a figure Google hoped to further reduce or overturn on appeal.

Google Stands Its Ground

Unsurprisingly, Google isn’t pleased. In a statement issued after the opinion’s release, the company defended Android as a platform that offers variety and fosters innovation.

“Android has created more choice for everyone and supports thousands of successful businesses in Europe and around the world,” a spokesperson said. The statement also warned that upholding the fine could have a chilling effect on investment in open-source platforms and harm users, developers, and hardware partners alike.

At the heart of the dispute is the way Google structured Android licensing agreements. The European Commission ruled that from 2011 onward, Google forced smartphone manufacturers to pre-install its Search app and Chrome browser as a condition for accessing the Google Play store. It also financially incentivized manufacturers to exclusively pre-install Google Search, while prohibiting them from offering devices using alternative versions of Android.

These tactics, regulators argued, effectively locked out rival search engines and browsers, solidifying Google’s hold over mobile search markets.

Billions in Fines, and Counting

This Android case is just one part of a much larger regulatory headache for Google in Europe. Across three antitrust investigations over the past decade, the tech behemoth has amassed a staggering €8.25 billion in fines from the EU — and the scrutiny shows no signs of easing.

According to Statcounter, Android powers roughly 73% of the world’s smartphones, making it the most widely used mobile operating system globally. That market dominance, combined with Google’s parallel leadership in internet search, has placed it squarely in the crosshairs of regulators on both sides of the Atlantic.

And it’s not just Europe. The U.S. Department of Justice is pursuing its own antitrust lawsuits against Google over alleged abuses in the search and digital advertising markets. Meanwhile, several other ongoing EU probes continue to examine the company’s practices in areas like ad tech and data handling.