The European Commission will today fine Google €4.3 billion ($5 billion) for antitrust violations related to Android, its popular mobile operating system, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
The financial penalty represents the largest antitrust penalty ever levied by Europes competition authorities against a single company, and will mark a significant step by Margrethe Vestager, the EUs antitrust chief, in her ongoing stand-off with the U.S. search giant.
As part of Wednesdays decision, the Commission is expected to say that Google had used Android, which is free to use and powers more than three-quarters of Europes smartphones, to unfairly reinforce its dominance in online search over rivals.
Its relationship with some of the worlds largest phone makers, which included contracts that required them to pre-install Google search and its web browser if they want access to the tech companys popular digital services, also hampered consumer choice and undercut competition.
Google has repeatedly denied that Android hinders its rivals, saying that any company has the ability to use the open-source software however they choose.
The company added that its ability to offer a mobile operating system thats readily available to phone manufacturers and app developers alike has boosted the global digital economy and reduced the cost of smartphones over the last decade.
“Todays mobile devices show all the signs of fierce competition with a wide range of business models,” Kent Walker, Googles general counsel, wrote in a blog post in defense of Android. “The rapid innovation, wide choice, and falling prices we see in smartphones represent the hallmarks of robust competition.”
A representative for the search giant was not immediately available to comment on Wednesdays upcoming antitrust decision.
The size of the fine was originally reported by Bloomberg.
