The European Commission's competition authorities has fined Google €4.34 billion for breaching EU antitrust rules. The fine is the largest ever imposed by the European Commission, Google have already said that they will appeal the Commission's decision. The Commission holds that since 2011, Google has imposed illegal restrictions on Android device manufacturers and mobile network operators to cement its dominant position in general internet search.
The Commission highlighted three restrictive practices. In this video the European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager highlights how Google prevented manufacturers wishing to pre-install Google apps from selling smart mobile devices running on alternative versions of Android that were not approved by Google (so-called "Android forks").
Google must now bring the conduct effectively to an end within 90 days or face penalty payments of up to 5% of the average daily worldwide turnover of Alphabet, Google's parent company.
