Google has suffered a significant legal setback after Europe's highest court upheld a multi-billion-euro antitrust penalty imposed by the European Union over the company's Android business practices, marking a major victory for European regulators in their efforts to curb the power of Big Tech.

In a ruling issued on Thursday, the Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed an appeal filed by Google and its parent company, Alphabet Inc., effectively confirming the European Commission's findings that the company abused its dominant market position through its Android mobile operating system.

The case stems from a landmark 2018 decision by the European Commission, which fined Google €4.34 billion for practices regulators said restricted competition in the mobile device market.

According to the Commission, Google required smartphone manufacturers using Android to pre-install Google Search, the Chrome browser, and the Google Play Store on their devices. Regulators also found that the company imposed restrictions that discouraged manufacturers from adopting alternative operating systems based on Android.

European authorities argued that these arrangements strengthened Google's dominance in internet search and mobile services while limiting opportunities for competing platforms and applications.

Although the original fine was reduced to approximately €4.1 billion by the EU's General Court in 2022, Google continued its legal challenge before the Court of Justice of the European Union.

The court ultimately rejected the appeal.

"The appeal brought by Google and its parent company Alphabet against the judgment of the General Court is dismissed, thereby confirming the penalty imposed for Google Search's abuse of a dominant position in the context of the Android operating system," the judges said in their ruling.

The decision brings to a close one of the most significant antitrust cases pursued by European regulators against a major technology company.

In response to the ruling, Google expressed disappointment and argued that the judgment failed to fully recognize the company's investments in developing Android as an open and accessible platform.

A company spokesperson said Google had already modified its business agreements following the European Commission's original decision in 2018.

"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," the company said.

The ruling is widely viewed as a major endorsement of the European Union's increasingly aggressive approach to regulating large technology firms.

Over the past decade, Google has accumulated nearly €11 billion in fines from EU regulators over a series of competition-related cases involving online search, advertising, mobile software, and digital marketplaces.

Among the most prominent was a €2.42 billion fine imposed in 2017 over Google's shopping comparison service. The company ultimately lost its appeal in that case as well.

While the Android penalty represents only a small portion of Alphabet's annual profits, legal experts say the decision could encourage additional lawsuits from competitors seeking compensation for alleged harm caused by Google's market practices.

The ruling comes as Google faces growing scrutiny under the EU's Digital Markets Act, legislation designed to limit the market power of dominant technology platforms.

European regulators are currently investigating whether Google has unfairly favored its own services in search results and whether certain practices related to its app marketplace violate the bloc's digital competition rules.

The company's legal troubles have also expanded beyond regulatory fines. On Wednesday, a Swedish court ordered Google to pay approximately $1.5 billion in damages to PriceRunner, which alleged that Google's shopping service practices caused significant commercial harm.

With European authorities continuing to strengthen oversight of major technology firms, Thursday's ruling is expected to reinforce the EU's position as one of the world's most assertive regulators of the digital economy and could pave the way for further action against dominant technology companies in the years ahead. (ILKHA)