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The European Court of Justice has confirmed a €4.125 billion fine levied by Brussels against Google amidst rising tensions with the United States.
EU officials appear to have been edging closer to a trade war against both Washington DC and Beijing in recent weeks, with both American and Chinese companies being on the receiving end of fines and negative tariffs.
European courts have so far backed the Brussels crackdown, with the bloc’s top court finding on Thursday that a €4.34 billion fine against Google in 2018 was legal.
The penalty was a result of the company allegedly abusing its position in the European smartphone market, with Brussels claiming that the company’s policy of bundling Google Search and Chrome with the Google Play Store for third-party Android devices broke antitrust rules.
While Google managed to get the penalty slightly reduced during the ensuing 8-year legal battle, its efforts to have the case thrown out entirely failed to convince the Luxembourg-based court.
The final decision is likely to go down poorly in Washington, with President Donald Trump having already threatened to slap EU countries with a general 100 per cent tariff should they implement a suggested blanket tax on American tech firms.
Beijing is also likely to be wary of the decision, with its own tech platforms coming under increasing Brussels scrutiny.
Digital marketplace Temu has borne the brunt of the EU’s regulatory ire, being fined €200 million earlier this year over claims its products broke the bloc’s laws under the Digital Services Act.
A further EU-wide tariff on imports valued under €150 from outside the bloc has also threatened the company’s business model, with European customers being forced to pay an additional €3 in tax per item bought from China or the United States.
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