A ruling on Wednesday by Europe’s General Court on whether Alphabet’s Google should face a record EU antitrust fine of 4.34 billion euro ($4.4 billion) for using its Android mobile operating system to quash rivals could set a precedent for other regulators looking into its business practices.
Google will be looking to reverse its fortune after losing its challenge to a 2.42-billion-euro fine last year, the first of a trio of cases, while EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager needs a win following setbacks in cases involving other tech giants like Intel and Qualcomm this year.
The competition chief of the European Commission has cracked down against Big Tech with hefty fines to ensure a level playing field in the 27-country European Union.
Vestager is currently also investigating Google’s digital advertising business, its Jedi Blue ad deal with Meta, Apple’s App Store rules, Meta’s marketplace and data use and Amazon’s online selling and market practices. – Reuters