EU Adviser Upholds €4.1 Billion Antitrust Penalty on Google

Top court's final order could alter how Android bundles apps and sets access terms in Europe

- Bloomberg

Google's fight against a record €4.1 billion ($4.7 billion) European Union antitrust fine suffered a blow after an adviser to the bloc's top court said regulators were right to punish the US giant for abusing Android's market power.

Advocate General Juliane Kokott of the EU's Court of Justice said in a non-binding opinion that Google's appeal should fail because the legal arguments put forward by the US tech giant fell short.

"Google held a dominant position in several markets of the Android ecosystem and thus benefited from network effects that enabled it to ensure that users used Google Search," Kokott said. "As a result, Google obtained access to data that enabled it in turn to improve its service."

The bloc's top court often heeds the opinions of its advisers in its final rulings, which typically follow in several months.