CJEU Upholds Google Android Antitrust Fine of €4.125 Billion

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has brought the Google Android antitrust case to a close by dismissing Google and Alphabet’s final appeal. In its judgment of 10 September 2024 in Case C-738/22 P, the Court upheld the General Court’s findings that Google abused its dominant position through contractual restrictions connected to Android mobile devices.

The case concerned agreements requiring Android device manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and the Chrome browser in order to obtain access to the Google Play Store. The Commission found that Google also made payments to certain manufacturers and mobile network operators for exclusive pre-installation of Google Search. These arrangements reduced competitors’ ability to reach users and reinforced Google’s position in the general search market.

The Commission initially imposed a fine of €4.342 billion in July 2018. In 2022, the General Court largely confirmed the infringement but reduced the penalty to €4.125 billion. The CJEU confirmed that outcome, including the General Court’s assessment of the restrictive effects of the Android agreements and the methodology used to set the fine.

The judgment ends one of the EU’s most significant competition enforcement cases, but Google remains subject to further regulatory scrutiny. In March 2025, the European Commission issued preliminary findings that Google may have breached the Digital Markets Act (DMA) rules on self-preferencing in search and anti-steering restrictions in Google Play. The Android judgment therefore remains relevant not only as a competition-law precedent, but also for the DMA’s application to large digital platforms.