Google's attempt to overturn a record EU Commission fine of 4.12 billion euros is on the verge of failing.

Kokott considers it proven that Google "secured and expanded its dominant market position" through the mobile operating system Android. Specifically, the company distorted competition through pre-installed Google apps and systematically directed users to its own search service. This practice gave Google crucial access to user data, which was used to improve its own services.

The penalty, originally imposed by the EU Commission in 2018, was part of a broader crackdown on the market-dominant behavior of large US tech companies. The Android case is the most significant one so far. In 2022, the General Court of the European Union largely upheld the allegations but reduced the penalty from the original 4.34 billion to 4.12 billion euros. Google also appealed against this judgment.

The legal arguments of Google do not hold," wrote Kokott in her opinion. The court's decision should therefore essentially be upheld.

The Brussels Commission welcomes the vote – even though it did not officially comment on the ongoing proceedings. It would be a symbolic success for European competition policy, which is currently moving towards even stricter regulation of large platform operators with the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

For Google, the report represents another setback in a series of proceedings. Overall, the EU Commission has imposed three major antitrust fines on the company over the past ten years, totaling around eight billion euros. While the ECJ has already definitively confirmed the €2.42 billion fine for Google's abuse in the product search area, the company was able to achieve a partial success in the online advertising case: The €1.5 billion fine from 2019 was overturned by the court in 2023.

Parallel to this, another EU competition proceeding is currently underway against Google due to possible abuses in the field of advertising technology. A decision is expected later this year.