Google appeals EU’s $5 billion Android fine

Google has appealed the European Union’s (EU) record $5 billion antitrust fine in July that alleged the company’s Android mobile operating system was being used to shut out competing services.

A Google spokeswoman confirmed to The Hill that it had filed its appeal with the EU General Court.

The European Commission, the EU’s enforcement arm, ordered Google in July to halt its practice of bundling Android’s operating system with Google’s mobile products, arguing that it effectively prevents other services from competing with the internet giant.

{mosads}“The Commission will defend its decision in Court,” a Commission spokesperson said in an emailed statement to The Hill.

Google had promised to appeal when the decision was announced in July.

In a blog post at the time, CEO Sundar Pichai emphatically denied that the Android platform was anticompetitive and warned that the EU’s decision could hurt innovation.

“We’ve always agreed that with size comes responsibility,” Pichai wrote. “A healthy, thriving Android ecosystem is in everyone’s interest, and we’ve shown we’re willing to make changes. But we are concerned that today’s decision will upset the careful balance that we have struck with Android, and that it sends a troubling signal in favor of proprietary systems over open platforms.”