Google will appeal fine before the highest European court

Alphabet subsidiary Google will appeal its record 4.125 million euro ($4.112 million) antitrust fine from the European Union to Europe’s top court after a lower court dismissed its appeal last month, it said on Thursday. the tech giant.

The Luxembourg-based General Court broadly upheld the European Commission’s 2018 decision, but reduced the fine to €4.125 million from €4.34 billion ($4.112 million from $4.326 million).

The judges agreed with the EU competition watchdog that Google imposed illegal restrictions on Android mobile device makers and mobile network operators to consolidate its search engine’s dominant position.

“We are preparing our appeal. The court deadline is December 1,” a Google spokesman said.

The company can only appeal in matters of law before the Court of Justice of the EU, based in Luxembourg.

The bloc recently bolstered its antitrust power with landmark new technology rules that curb “gatekeepers” – companies that control access to its platforms and data on them – that companies will have to comply with in the first quarter of 2024.

It was in 2018 when the European Commission reported this record fine to the American technology giant for the abuse of dominant position that it exercises, in its opinion, through Android, its mobile operating system.