Google may have to pay a record €4.125 billion (US$4.12 billion) fine to the European Union in an antitrust case linked to its Android operating system for smartphones after losing a court appeal on Wednesday, a ruling that is likely to bolster the bloc’s ability to crackdown on big tech companies.
Wednesday’s ruling is likely to embolden the European Commission to expand its crackdown on the dominance of US tech giants including Amazon, Apple and Meta.
The commission is currently investigating Apple’s 30% App Store commission and its alleged abuse of its dominance in the music streaming space.
The commission is also investigating potential antitrust abuse by Google and Meta in the online advertising business and Amazon’s e-commerce business practices.
Earlier this year, the European Parliament voted in favour of two sets of sweeping rules designed to target the dominance of big tech companies—the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act.
Further Reading
Google loses appeal against record EU antitrust fine (Financial Times)
Google loses challenge against EU antitrust decision, other probes loom (Reuters)
This article was first published on forbes.com