Google has lost its legal antitrust challenge on Wednesday after the European Union’s General Court confirmed Brussels’ decision to issue the Silicon Valley tech company with a multibillion-euro fine.
The loss, the first of a trio of cases, accused the Alphabet-owned (GOOG) firm of using its Android mobile operating system to undermine competitors.
“The General Court largely confirms the Commission’s decision that Google imposed unlawful restrictions on manufacturers of Android mobile devices and mobile network operators in order to consolidate the dominant position of its search engine,” a statement said on Wednesday.
However, the court trimmed the fine to be paid by Google from €4.3bn ($4.3bn, £3.7bn) to €4.1bn to “better reflect the gravity and the duration of the infringement”.
