Google must pay record €4.1 billion fine, top EU court rules
Key takeaways
- The EU's highest court has thrown out an appeal by Google against a record antitrust fine.
- The European Commission initially imposed a €4.3 billion penalty in 2018, accusing Google of abusing its Android system's market dominance by requiring phone makers to pre-install Google Search and Chrome.
- The EU's executive branch accused the search engine giant of restricting competition while imposing the bloc's highest antitrust fine ever.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
The EU's highest court has thrown out an appeal by Google against a record antitrust fine. The tech giant had argued that the bloc was unfairly penalizing innovation.
https://p.dw.com/p/5GQ1EGoogle was hit with a €2.95 billion fine in September 2025 [FILE: November 11, 2025]Image: Sean Gallup/Getty Images Advertisement Google will have to pay a record €4.125 billion ($4.67 billion) antitrust fine over anti-competitive practices after the European Union's top court ruled against an appeal by the tech giant on Thursday.
The European Commission initially imposed a €4.3 billion penalty in 2018, accusing Google of abusing its Android system's market dominance by requiring phone makers to pre-install Google Search and Chrome.