EU court adviser backs antitrust ruling against Google in ongoing legal battle

EU court adviser has backed antitrust ruling against Google’s appeal. (Photo: turtix/Shutterstock)

Google is facing a major legal hurdle as an adviser to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has supported EU antitrust regulators in their prolonged dispute with the Alphabet subsidiary. This conflict centres on a significant fine imposed over Google’s use of its Android mobile operating system to stifle competition.

The case stems from a 2018 decision by the European Commission (EC), which imposed a fine of €4.34bn on Google for allegedly using its Android system to suppress competition.

In 2022, the General Court upheld the European Commission’s decision but reduced the original fine to €4.1bn. Dissatisfied with this outcome, Google appealed to the CJEU, the chief judicial authority of the EU. Now, Juliane Kokott, Advocate-General at the CJEU, has issued a non-binding opinion recommending that the court dismiss Google’s appeal and confirm the revised fine.

Kokott’s opinion supports the view that Google’s practices involving its Play Store, Google Search, and Chrome browser unfairly restricted market competition. The Advocate-General pointed out that Google’s bundling strategy created a “status quo bias,” making it difficult for competitors to attract users away from pre-installed Google services.

“It is not realistic, in the present case, to compare the situation of Google with that of a hypothetical as-efficient competitor,” said Kokott. “Google held a dominant position in several markets of the Android-ecosystem and thus benefited from network effects that enabled it to ensure that users used Google Search.”

The European Commission initially argued that Google’s contractual restrictions were designed to protect its dominant position in general search services and maintain its advertising revenue during a period when mobile internet usage was expanding rapidly. Despite this, the General Court annulled parts of the Commission’s decision related to revenue-sharing agreements while still recognising a broader pattern of anti-competitive conduct.

Kokott dismissed Google’s legal arguments as ineffective, particularly rejecting Google’s suggestion that regulatory assessments should compare its position to that of a hypothetical equally efficient competitor. According to Kokott, Google’s dominance in various Android markets and its network effects provided it with competitive advantages that no rival could realistically replicate.

Regulators highlighted that since 2011, Google required manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and Chrome alongside its Play Store on their Android devices. Additionally, Google incentivised manufacturers not to use alternative versions of Android.

Future implications for Google as EU antitrust rulings accumulate in various markets

Google has faced a cumulative total of €8.25bn in fines linked to three major antitrust investigations stretching back more than a decade. These ongoing legal challenges underscore significant regulatory scrutiny regarding Google’s business practices in multiple global markets. Judges at the CJEU are expected to deliver their final ruling on this appeal in the coming months, which could have far-reaching implications for Google’s operations and future regulatory compliance strategies.

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