Google to fight $4.33 billion EU antitrust fine over Android

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Alphabet Inc. Google will face off against the European Commission in Luxembourg in a bid to overturn a 4.12 billion euro ($4.33 billion) antitrust fine.

The 2018 fine—among the largest the commission has ever issued over antitrust abuses—took aim at Google’s Android operating system. The European Union regulator alleged that Google unfairly used its dominance to strongarm device manufacturers and network operators into making sure that traffic on Android devices goes to Google’s own search engine. The company will now make its case at the European Court of Justice, the bloc’s highest court, on Tuesday morning.

A spokesperson for the company said the case isn’t supported by the facts or EU law. “Android has created more choice for everyone, not less, and supports thousands of successful businesses in Europe and around the world," they said. According to Google’s lawyers, the commission made errors when it ruled that it abused its dominant position in mobile operating systems.

Android competes closely with Apple’s own iOS operating system and provides people with plenty of choice in terms of applications they can use, download and set as default, the company argues. It is the highest bill the EU has handed Google in its long-running battle to curb the search giant’s dominance online. Google has fielded some 8.25 billion euros of EU competition fines in the last decade.