Google appeals record £3.5bn EU anti-trust penalty
Google has filed an appeal with the EU’s top court this afternoon over a record €4.13bn (£3.5bn) fine.
The tech giant said it will be challenging the commission’s largest ever anti-trust penalty handed down in 2018 that took aim at its Android operating system, suggesting that it restricted mobile competition and consumer choice.
In the original decision, the commission said that Google, which is owned by Alphabet, broke EU rules by requiring smartphone makers to take a bundle of its own apps– including Google Search, Chrome and YouTube.
Google has filed the latest appeal because “there are areas that require legal clarification from the European Court of Justice,” it said.
“Android has created more choice for everyone, not less,” Google said in a statement.
The fine is one of three anti-competition fines, totalling more than £6.9bn, handed to the Silicon Valley firm by Brussels.
The European Court of Justice can notably only rule on points of law.