EU court upholds Google's €4.1 billion fine over Android abuses

The European Union's highest court ruled on 2 July 2026 to end a years-long case: Google has definitively lost its fight against an antitrust fine of €4.1 billion ($4.7 billion) for abusing its dominant position in the market through the Android platform.

Why the court sided with regulators

The EU Court of Justice, the bloc's highest appeals court, backed the European Commission, which first fined Google in July 2018. The investigation found that Google controlled the Android operating system with a share of more than 80% of the EU mobile OS market, and used that position to force its own apps on smartphone makers. According to the case file, OEM partners producing Android devices were effectively compelled to preinstall Google Search and the Chrome browser. Refusing meant risking loss of access to Google Play licensing, which is critical for any Android smartphone maker.

• The fine was imposed by the European Commission on 18 July 2018, with an initial amount of €4.34 billion
• In 2022, the EU General Court reduced the amount to €4.125 billion
• The violation: mandatory preinstallation of Google Search and Chrome on OEM manufacturers' Android devices
• Android's share of the EU mobile OS market during the violations: more than 80%
• The 2 July 2026 ruling is final and cannot be appealed

How Google fought the fine for eight years

Google challenged the penalty at every level of the European court system. In 2022, the General Court partly accepted its arguments and cut the fine by roughly €200 million, but it upheld the key finding that Android's licensing practices violated EU competition law. Google's final appeal to the Court of Justice ended in a complete rejection.

The judges concluded that the regulators were right to classify the terms of agreements with OEM partners as anticompetitive: they systematically limited manufacturers' ability to install alternative search engines and browsers.

"The EU

Court of Justice has confirmed that the Commission rightly classified Google's conduct as an abuse of a dominant position in the market," the final ruling states.

Three cases, more than €8 billion

The Android case is the largest, but not the only EU antitrust proceeding against Google. In parallel, the company lost the Google Shopping case (a €2.42 billion fine, 2017) and the AdSense advertising network case (€1.49 billion, 2019). Across the three cases, the penalties exceed €8 billion.

After the fine in 2018, Google had already changed how Android works in the EU. Among other things, it added a mandatory search engine choice screen for European users.

What this means

The final verdict cements a precedent: a dominant position in mobile platforms does not give a company the right to push its own services through the terms of partner agreements. This principle already underpins the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which took effect in 2023 and requires the largest tech platforms to maintain a competitive environment.

Frequently asked questions

How much in total must Google pay in EU antitrust cases?

Across the three major EU cases (Android, Google Shopping and AdSense), total penalties exceed €8 billion. The Android case, with its confirmed €4.1 billion fine, remains the largest of the three.

What did Google change in Android after the 2018 fine?

Following the Commission's decision, Google introduced a mandatory search engine choice screen in the EU the first time an Android device is set up. Even so, the Commission and national regulators continue to monitor compliance with competition law in the mobile ecosystem.