Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares traded about 1% lower on Thursday after the European Court of Justice (ECJ) upheld a €4.1 billion ($4.67 billion) antitrust fine against Google over its Android mobile operating system.
The ruling marks the end of Google's legal challenge against the European Commission's 2018 decision, which found the company had abused the dominant position of Android by using pre-installation agreements with smartphone manufacturers to favor its own apps and services.
In a statement, the ECJ said it had dismissed the appeal brought by Google and Alphabet, confirming the penalty as revised by the General Court.
"The Court of Justice dismisses the appeal brought by Google and Alphabet against that judgment of the General Court, thereby confirming the penalty imposed on them, as revised by the General Court, for their anticompetitive practices relating to the Android operating system," the court said.
The original fine of €4.34 billion was reduced to €4.1 billion by the EU's General Court in 2022. Thursday's ruling is final and leaves Google with no further avenue of appeal within the EU court system.
Google said the decision does not reflect the benefits Android has provided to users and developers.
"Android provides more choice for everyone and supports thousands of businesses. This judgment fails to recognize our significant investment to ensure Android remains open, interoperable and free," a Google spokesperson said.
The company added that it had already modified its agreements following the European Commission's original 2018 decision and remains focused on innovation and openness for users, partners, and developers.
Since the Commission's ruling, Google has introduced changes to Android in Europe, including giving users more options to choose alternative search engines and web browsers during device setup.