European Court of Justice Dismisses Google's Appeal

Since 2018, Google has generated an estimated total of $150 billion to $180 billion in cumulative gross profit from the combined ecosystem of Android, the Play Store, and its consumer subscriptions. However, today Google has to pay a $4.6 billion find to the EU. 

Here's the official statement from the ECJ: 

"The Court of Justice dismisses the appeal brought by Google and Alphabet against that judgment of the General Court, thereby confirming the penalty imposed on them, as revised by the General Court, for their anticompetitive practices relating to the Android operating system,"

As a reminder, in 2018, the European Commission imposed a record-breaking penalty on Google. The ruling was based on the allegation that Google abused its dominant position in the Android mobile market to unfairly favor its own apps through pre-installation deals with smartphone manufacturers.

Google has since tried to appeal that ruling, but has officially failed, as their appeals have run their course down to dismissal. I don't see Google haven't a problem paying this fine, but things may get even more interesting than it already has in the EU. Thought I do believe that Android wouldn't be as successful in the EU if it weren't for Google, but I do think them forcing OEMs to use their services is a little shady. 

Here's Google after the dismissal ruling: 

"Android provides more choice for everyone and supports thousands of businesses. This judgment fails to recognize our significant investment to ensure Android remains open, interoperable and free.

In any event, we adapted our agreements to comply with the initial decision back in 2018 and we remain focused on continued innovation and openness for our users, partners and developers."

To Google's credit, they have pivoted to allowing Android users to switch search engines and browsers upon setup of their device, but by the looks of things, the damage has already been done and people still choose Chrome and Google search out of inertia. 

Google isn't the only one hit with a fine, though.