Tech giant, Google has been fined a whopping $5 billion by the European Commission for Android antitrust violations. The company was ordered to pay the record fee for unfairly pushing its apps on smartphone users as such inhibiting other competitors.
“Google has used Android as a vehicle to cement the dominance of its search engine,” Margrethe Vestager, Europe’s top antitrust official, said in a statement. “They have denied European consumers the benefits of effective competition in the important mobile sphere,” she added.
The Commission said that Google broke the law by requiring manufacturers to install its Google Search and Chrome apps as a condition for licensing Google’s app store. It said that Google paid some large smartphone makers and network operators to install apps on phones before they were sold. It also prevented manufacturers from selling devices running on alternative versions of its Android operating system.
Vestager told reporters that the fine, the largest ever imposed by the European Commission, reflects the “seriousness and sustained nature” of the violations. According to the report in CNN, Google has been ordered to stop the practices within 90 days, or face additional penalties.
Google said that it would appeal the decision adding that “Android has created more choice for everyone, not less. A vibrant ecosystem, rapid innovation and lower prices are the classic hallmarks of robust competition.”
Google was hit with a record EU antitrust fine of €2.4 billion ($2.8 billion) for prioritizing its shopping service over competitors in search. Apple, Amazon and Facebook have also been penalized by European regulators.
