Google challenges $5B European Union antitrust fine
Google is challenging the $5 billion (4.34 billion euros) fine by the European Commission for its alleged use of "illegal practices" to push Android apps on smartphone customers.
The Alphabet Inc.-owned search giant said it has filed a legal appeal against the record-breaking fine.
"We have now filed our appeal of the EC's Android decision at the General Court of the EU," Google said in a statement.
European regulators said Google engaged in practices that prevented its rivals from competing and innovating. Although market dominance is not an illegal practice under EU antitrust laws, regulators said dominant companies like Google have a “special responsibility” to ensure that competition is not restricted.
“Google has used Android as a vehicle to cement the dominance of its search engine," Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement in July.
The tech giant recently had its share of troubles with Google forced to shut down its social network Google+ after the company discovered a software glitch that potentially exposed the private profile data of its users.
Google+ users’ information was exposed to outside developers between 2015 and March 2018. Google reportedly opted to not disclose the security bug that affected nearly 500,000 users earlier this year.