Google must pay €4.1bn fine for using Android to 'block' rivals

Google must pay €4.1bn fine for using Android to 'block' rivalsImage source, iStock via Getty imagesByLaura CressPublished34 minutes agoEurope's top court has ruled Google must pay a €4.1bn (£3.5 bn) fine handed down for using its Android mobile operating system to block rivals.The European Commission had originally handed out a €4.3 bn (then £3.9 bn) fine in 2018, but this was trimmed to €4.1 bn in 2022. An appeal brought by the tech giant has now been dismissed. It is the largest penalty the Commission has ever imposed against Google,A Google spokesperson said the judgement "fails to recognise" the firm's "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," they continued.When the fine was first announced in 2018, it was alleged there were three ways in which Google had acted illegally:requiring Android handset and tablet manufacturers to pre-install the Google Search app and its own web browser Chrome as a condition of allowing them to offer access to its Play app storemaking payments to large manufacturers and mobile network operators that agreed to exclusively pre-install the Google Search app on their devicespreventing manufacturers from selling any smart devices powered by alternative "forked" versions of Android by threatening to refuse them permission to pre-install its appsIt was acknowledged that Google's version of Android does not prevent device owners downloading alternative web browsers or using other search engines.Google's chief executive Sundar Pichai blogged in response, external at the time to the original fine that the decision "rejects the business model that supports Android, which has created more choice for everyone, not less."This is not the first c...