In 2018 Google was fined €4.3 billion by the European Commission in the largest antitrust violation at the time. In the years since, these fines have been issued with increasingly regularity, with the related figures rising too.

While several more fines have been issued against Google and other big tech firms, this specific 2018 one was being fought by the company. We are speaking in the past tense as the European Union’s Court of Justice has now decided that Google failed to convince the court that it need not be fined.

To that end, the Court of Justice has upheld the European Commission’s original decision, noting that Google used its market dominance to impose restrictions on Android smartphone and tablet makers.

“On the basis of its own assessment of all the circumstances relating to the penalty, the General Court rules that it is appropriate to vary the contested decision, concluding that the amount of the fine to be imposed on Google for the infringement committed is to be €4.125 billion,” the Court’s summary reads.

“To that end, the General Court considers it appropriate, as did the Commission, to take account of the intentional nature of the implementation of the unlawful practices and of the value of relevant sales made by Google in the last year of its full participation in the infringement,” it continues.

You may have also noticed that the fine amount is less than the one dished out in 2018, as a reduction of 5 percent, based on the findings that Court has made in its assessment of the case.

Whether Google will continue to fight this case remains to be seen, but there is still scope for an appeal.

“An appeal, limited to points of law only, may be brought before the Court of Justice against the decision of the General Court within two months and ten days of notification of the decision,” the judgement concludes.

With Google racking up as many fines it has to date, one has to wonder if the company should be allowed to operate under its current guise given the continued issue of antitrust behaviour failing to be properly addressed.