London (AP) – Google faced a large setback Thursday in its attempt to overthrow an antitrust penalty of the European Union of several billion dollars involving Android after the legal adviser of a high -level court spoke with the regulators.
The defender General of the European Court of Justice, Juliane Kokott, recommended in a non -binding notice that Google’s call against the fine of more than 4 billion euros ($ 4.7 billion) should be rejected.
The case dates back to 2018, when the EU executive commission slapped Google with a fine of 4.134 billion euros after having noted that the American technological company used the domination of its Android mobile operating system to deepen competition and reduce the choice of consumers.
After Google filed an initial appeal, a lower court reduced the penalty to 4.125 billion euros in 2022, which the company also appealed before the Court of Justice.
Kokott said that the Court of Justice confirms the fine and confirms the judgment of the lower court, according to a press release summarizing its opinion.
Google said that it was disappointed with the opinion, adding that if the court followed, it “would discourage investment in open platforms and harm Android users, partners and application developers”.
“Android has created more choices for everyone and supports thousands of prosperous companies in Europe and worldwide,” the company said in a statement.
The opinions of the Advocate General are not legally binding but are often followed by judges.
The judges “now begin their deliberations in this case. A judgment will be rendered on a later date, “said the court.
The fine was one of the three antitrust penalties totaling more than 8 billion euros that the European Commission has slapped Google in the last decade, while the 27 nations block has launched its repression against large technological companies.
Google is still faced with a Brussels decision in an antitrust case targeting its digital advertising activity.
