On Monday, the European Court of Justice will start hearing Google’s objection to a multi-billion-dollar fine imposed on the American tech company in 2018.
At the time, the European Commission believed that Google was illegally imposing requirements on phone manufacturers who wanted to make their own version of Android but still wanted to offer the Google Play Store app store. The tech company also required those companies to integrate Chrome browser and Google’s own search engine into the mobile operating system.
With a fine of 4.3 billion euros, the European Commission set a record. According to EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, Google has imposed restrictive conditions on phone manufacturers and telecom companies since 2011.
Google immediately announced that it would appeal the fine. Despite this, with a rule change a year later, the company did meet the requirements of the Commission. For example, Google allowed companies to make their own versions of the Android operating system without setting up the Google search engine and installing the Chrome browser. Of course, that had to be paid for. According to Google, that was necessary because it uses the revenue from advertising to keep Chrome free.
The European Commission announced that it was up to Google itself to formulate a new policy on Android. The board of the European Union emphasized that Google did not have to ask for money.